Sailor Moon:American Senshi REBOOT
by Eugol Dlareg
Summary: A rebooted version of my original Sailor Moon AU series published 2001-2011. Basically, I started over, with a whole different story, changed a couple names, and added a couple surprises. . .
1. The Champion of the Moon Reborn

SAILOR MOON:AMERICAN SENSHI-REBOOTED

By Eugol Dlareg

**A BRIEF MESSAGE BEFORE WE EMBARK ON OUR JOURNEY. . . **

As the title of this story makes obvious, this is a reboot of my original _Sailor Moon: American Senshi_ series, which was originally posted on in 2001(if you haven't read it, but would like to, I plan on keeping it up as long as allows me to keep both series up. If I am asked to take down 1 or the other story, I will take down the older one, but it would be nice to have both the new version, and the old version for history's sake). In December, 2005, nearly 5 years after the first chapter was posted, I posted what I thought at the time would be the final chapter of the saga, which, in a way, it was. In early 2011, though, I came back to something I thought I was finished with, but with a difference. . . The characters I wrote about back then(my original series, as well as the one you are about to read, was set in the mid-1980s, specifically 1986 and 1987) had now grown up, married, and had kids of their own(and in the case of Sailor Jupiter, killed by a drunk driver). In this story, the former Gilded Rose, the leader of the team(I made him the leader simply because I found it a little easier to write for a character I wholly created, instead of adapted from characters created by a Japanese pharmacist. Yes, aside from creating manga, Naoko Takeuchi was at one time a licensed pharmacist. The things you can learn about someone by Googling them. . .) comes out of "retirement"(caused by a combination of "growing up" and a bout with cancer that left him without superpowers) to train the next generation of Sailor Soldiers, one of whom happens to be his own daughter. That story also includes a retcon that reveals that in their civilian identities, prior to his marriage to Sailor Mars, Gilded Rose has had sex with Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury(who would later become his stepsister), and Sailor Venus(I left whether he had sex with Sailor Jupiter(at the time, I was on the fence about whether to make her civilian identity a lesbian in a sham marriage with a homosexual male, or a bisexual) and Sailor Earth(I was one of many fanfic writers who made Serena's friend Molly(Naru, in the Japanese version) a Sailor Soldier, who didn't even appear in the Next Generation stories) open, planning to reveal in future episodes, which were eventually never written(although I did nearly fully write, yet abort, a 4th chapter). I would have to say, though, that I pretty much abandoned that series after the 3rd chapter, which contained an ending I literally pulled out of my ass at 2:30 one morning, which I ended up changing the next day. This reboot is a little closer to the first season of the Sailor Moon anime, except I changed things around to avoid plagiarizing the anime

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is a reboot of an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Yoo-Hoo is a registered trademark of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg.

_Ten millennia ago, the Moon was a paradise, a veritable Garden of Eden. Peace reigned throughout the Solar System, and the people lived in peace and harmony. On the Moon, peace was kept by a group known as the Order, as well as the Guardian Princesses of the inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and Jupiter, along with Moon Princess Serenity. While the Guardian Princesses of the inner planets kept the peace within the Solar System, the Guardian Princesses of the Outer Planets, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, stood guard against attacks from outside the Solar System. Like the Biblical Garden of Eden, destruction came in the form of a serpent. . . _

**The Moon, 10,000 years ago**

A young man wearing the training uniform of the Order was meditating on a low wooden platform, when he was interrupted by the Guardian Princess of Mars. "Jacara," she said, which caused the young man to quickly rise to his feet.

"Lady Mars," Jacara, the young man who was the trainer of the Guardian Princesses, said, as the princess tossed him one of the quarterstaffs she was carrying. "If you're ready," he said, as the both of them got into ready positions, and touched the staffs they were holding, "we shall begin."

Jacara and the princess began sparring with staffs, showing intensity which belied their young ages. However, Jacara had the advantage, seeing as he was the master and the princess was his student, as well as the fact that he had been fighting with quarterstaff practically before he could walk. The battle went back and forth, although it seemed that it was more back for the princess and forth for Jacara. Every so often, Jacara would give instruction or advice to his student. Jacara felt that his favorite part of his day was when he was training one of the Guardian Princesses. Suddenly, while they were sparring, while Jacara had a distinct advantage, he suddenly dropped to one knee, and tapped the end of his staff on the ground, to signal that he yielded the fight. Off in the distance, he could hear a bell tolling. "What's wrong?" Princess Mars asked. "It's not like you to yield when you're winning."

"Do you hear that?" Jacara asked.

"The warning bells," Princess Mars said. "But that can only mean one thing."

"The Guardian Princesses of the Outer Planets have fallen," Jacara said. "Metallia somehow defeated them. Return to Serenity Palace immediately."

"But you're alone," Princess Mars said. "I can't let you face Metallia's forces by yourself."

"I can handle it," Jacara said. "And I can count on other members of the Order to come to my aid. Besides, above all, your main duty is to protect the Princess Serenity."

"Right," Princess Mars said, as she ran towards Serenity Palace.

As the Princess left, Jacara was approached by a man in military style dress. "Endymion," Jacara said, addressing the man. "Thank the Kingdom you're here. No doubt you hear the warning bells. The Guardian Princesses of the Outer Planets have fallen, so the Order and the Guardian Princesses are all that stand between the Moon Kingdom and the forces of Metallia. All I have right now is my staff, but I am prepared to defend the Kingdom with my bare hands if I have to."

"I can offer you my dagger," Endymion said, unsheathing a dagger, and driving it into Jacara's abdomen. "In your gizzard! All who oppose Metallia must die. Hail Metallia, the rightful Queen of the Solar System."

Partway to the Palace, Princess Mars realized she forgot her staff, so she went back to where she had her training session with Jacara. She arrived just in time to see Endymion stab Jacara, and hid in a bush until he departed. When Endymion departed, Princess Mars went to help Jacara. "I thought I told you to go back to the Palace," Jacara said, weakly.

"I forgot my staff," Princess Mars said, helping Jacara up. "And I'm glad I did. If I hadn't come back, I wouldn't have seen what happened. Before I am an hour older, Queen Serenity will know of Endymion's treachery. We must go. I will help you."

Ten minutes later, Jacara and Princess Mars arrived at Serenity Palace. "I must speak to Queen Serenity," Princess Mars said. "And Jacara needs a healer."

"Why do you need to speak to me?" Queen Serenity asked.

"We have a traitor in our midst," Princess Mars said.

"Who is this traitor you speak of?" Queen Serenity asked, as they led Jacara to the healer.

"Prince Endymion," Princess Mars said.

"This is a serious accusation," Queen Serenity said.

"I realize the seriousness of this accusation," Princess Mars said. "And it is one I would not be making save for the fact that I personally eyewitnessed his treachery. Endymion stabbed Jacara, and pledged his allegiance to Metallia."

"Princess Mars speaks the truth," Jacara said, weakly, as he was placed on the healer's table. "This wound in my belly came at the hands of Endymion."

The healer arrived, and poured a thick purple liquid in Jacara's wound. Jacara screamed as the liquid caused a burning sensation in his abdomen, where he was stabbed. "The pain cannot be helped," the healer said. "But it only lasts a short time, and you shall be healed shortly. By what manner did Jacara obtain this wound?"

"Endymion," Princess Mars said. "I witnessed his treachery personally."

"Endymion's treachery is most unfortunate," Queen Serenity said. "While Jacara is healing, someone fetch his battle dress."

"What happened to Jacara?" Princess Serenity asked, when she saw Jacara being taken to Queen Serenity's chambers.

"Endymion attacked him," Queen Serenity said.

"But Mother," Princess Serenity said, "Endymion is one of our strongest allies."

"Endymion pledges his allegiance to Metallia," Queen Serenity said. "Princess Mars herself personally witnessed his betrayal."

"Our only hope now," Princess Serenity said, "is for the Order to defeat Metallia's forces."

"Your Majesty, I have grave news," a Palace guard said, as Princesses Venus, Mars, Earth, Mercury, and Jupiter joined Queen Serenity, Princess Serenity, and Jacara, who had changed from his training uniform into his battle dress. "The Order has fallen."

"I will defend you, Your Majesty," Jacara said, drawing his sword. "Until my dying breath leaves my body."

"That can be arranged," Endymion said, entering the chamber where Queen Serenity, Jacara, and the Princesses were gathered. He was accompanied by 2 women, who were joined at the back.

"Metallia," Jacara said, assuming an attack stance.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Metallia, the woman facing Jacara asked. "You do realize that if you kill me. . . "

"I also kill your twin sister," Jacara said.

"If it means ridding the Universe of my twin sister's evil," Beryl, Metallia's twin, said, "I can accept dying."

"It's fortunate for you that I cannot murder the innocent," Jacara said to Metallia.

"And I would kill myself," Beryl said, "but when my twin sister gained her powers, the first thing she did was to put a spell on me that made me unable to die by my own hand. She knew as well as I that I would gladly sacrifice my own life to stop her."

"If we only had the Sword of Light," Jacara said.

"What is that?" Princess Mercury asked.

"A mythical sword," Queen Serenity said.

"It has a blade made not of steel, but of light," Princess Serenity said. "It is the only blade that can completely sever the bond between Metallia and Beryl."

"Only when the bond between them is severed," Jacara said, "will we be able to kill Metallia without also killing Beryl."

"Unfortunately," Princess Serenity said, "the Sword of Light is but a myth. We don't know if it actually exists."

"Endymion," Metallia said, "Kill them all, Queen Serenity first."

"With pleasure," Endymion said, unsheathing his sword.

"Jacara," Queen Serenity said, as Jacara made a motion to defend his queen, "stand down."

"But he'll kill you," Jacara said.

"You may have won this battle," Queen Serenity said, as Endymion fatally wounded her, "but you will not win the war." As her life force left her body, Queen Serenity banished Metallia, Beryl, and Endymion to another dimension, and sent Princess Serenity, Jacara, and the Guardian Princesses to be reborn in the future, when they would be needed to battle once again. The last thing Princess Serenity, Jacara, or the Guardian Princesses remembered was floating in space. With her dying breath, Queen Serenity summoned her feline advisors, Luna and Artemis. "There will come a time when Metallia and Endymion shall emerge once again," Queen Serenity said. "On that day, my beloved daughter, the Guardian Princesses, and Jacara will be reborn to fight them. When that day comes, you two will be there to advise them." As Luna and Artemis left, Queen Serenity died.

**CHAPTER 1:**

**THE CHAMPION OF THE MOON REBORN **

Friday, 21 March, 1986-Dr. Sally K. Ride H.S. Sunny Hills, CA

Serena Campbell did what she normally did on Friday afternoon in Mrs. Haruna's algebra class, her last class of the day: marked the time until the end of the day. Although she wasn't exactly a poor student(Serena had managed, despite her disinterest in school, to maintain GPA of just over 3.5, including an A in algebra), she was of the mindset of "why should I have to take algebra in the first place, it's not like I'm ever going to need it". This particular Friday, the class seemed to drag on a little slower, being that as soon as school let out, Spring Break would start. Which for Serena, meant one thing: a whole week of nothing more than hanging out at the beach. The fact that the class had a test that day didn't help matters either, except for the fact that Mrs. Haruna didn't assign homework on test days. There came a point where she felt that 2:55 would never come. Finally, Serena heard the most beautiful sound she'd heard all week: the final bell. "Finally," Serena said, getting up to leave.

As Serena went to put her books in her locker, she saw Molly Carter, her best friend since the 6th grade, at her locker. "Hey Serena," Molly said. "Ready for a whole week of nothing but rays, waves, and burgers?"

"You better believe it," Serena said, as Jake Slater came over, and opened his locker. "Hey Jake," she said.

"Hi Serena," Jake said.

"Hi Jake," Molly said.

"Hi Brooklyn," Jake said, calling Molly the nickname he gave her in reference to the accent she managed not to lose since she moved to Sunny Hills from the aforementioned borough of New York City just before the beginning of 6th grade, despite the fact that in those 4 1/2 years, the farthest east she'd been was Barstow.

"Got any plans for next week?" Serena asked. "Gonna spend Spring Break at the beach?"

"Cavern Records," Jake said.

"Why you spending Spring Break at a record store?" Molly asked. "Why not the beach?"

"Because the beach ain't paying me $4.50 an hour," Jake said. "Cavern Records is."

"You have a job?" Molly asked.

"Yeah," Jake said. "Today's my first day. While the two of you are hanging out at the beach, I'll be a working stiff. Than again, having a steady paycheck won't be all that bad."

"True," Serena said.

"Besides," Jake said, "I need to get some new strings and an amp cord for my guitar. I'd like to get a band together, and maybe play Skate Factory over the summer."

"Cool," Serena said. "Anyways, Molly and I will be thinking of you and all the other working stiffs next week, while we're catching some rays."

"And I'll be thinking of you," Jake said, "while I'm making my own money."

Twenty minutes later, as Serena was walking home, she came across some boys, who appeared to be around 10-11 years of age. She approached the boys when she noticed they were mistreating a black cat. "Leave that cat alone!" Serena said, as she approached the boys. The boys ran off, and Serena picked up the cat. "Did those mean boys hurt you, kitty?" she asked, as the cat clawed at a bandage on its forehead. "Did they put that bandage on your head like that?" Serena asked, as she peeled the bandage off the cat's forehead, exposing a yellow crescent moon on the cat's forehead. "That's odd," Serena said to herself. "I've never seen a cat with a crescent moon on its forehead before."

_Is she the one?_ the cat thought to itself. _Is she the one I've been looking for?_

CAVERN RECORDS, 20 MINUTES LATER

Jake parked his 1962 Lambretta TV175 scooter in front of Cavern Records. When he entered, _A Hard Day's Night_ was playing on the TV behind the counter. _"Hard Day's Night_," Jake said. "Cool".

"I see you like that movie," Dianne Bryce, the owner, said.

"I like anything having to do with the Beatles," Jake said. "I've met George Harrison a few times."

"You met George?" Dianne asked. "He's always been my favorite."

"He's my mom's cousin," Jake said.

"Sodas are normally 50 cents," Dianne said, opening a cooler next to the counter. "You get a free one for every hour you work, anything over that is half price, and you can either pay at the time, or have it deducted from your paycheck. There's a sheet of paper on top of the cooler, you write your name down, and what you take. Can I get you anything while I'm here?"

"Got Yoo-Hoo?" Jake asked.

"A man after my own heart," Dianne said, getting a bottle of Yoo-Hoo out of the cooler and setting it in front of Jake.

**S**ERENA CAMPBELL'S BEDROOM, 45 MINUTES LATER

Serena was laying on her bed, polishing her fingernails, when she thought she heard her bedroom window opening. She looked up from her nails, and saw that the window was closed. _Must be my imagination, _she thought to herself, and went back to her nails. Next thing she knew, she heard a cat meowing. "When did we get a cat?" she asked, to nobody in particular. "And how did it get in my room with the door closed."

"I got in through the window," the cat said, in a female voice, with an English accent.

"Who said that?" Serena said, half scared, half threatening.

"I did," the cat said.

"You said that?" Serena asked, noticing for the first time that she was speaking to the same cat she saved earlier that afternoon. "But that's impossible."

"Why is it impossible that I can speak?" the cat asked.

"Hello," Serena said. "You're a cat. Last time I checked, cats can't speak, they can only meow."

"I'm a cat and I can speak," the cat said. "But enough of that. You are who I am looking for, Serena Campbell. I thought you might be when you saved me from those boys earlier, and now I am certain you are the one who will save the Earth from Metallia."

"Oh great," Serena said. "Not only did a CAT get into my bedroom through a closed window, but she knows my name, and she tells me that I'm supposed to save the world. I really need to lay off the Yoo-Hoo. Listen, kitty, so I can tell my friends about this hallucination whenever whatever it was I'm on wears off, can you at least tell me your name? Since you already know mine."

"Of course," the cat said. "How rude of me. My name is Luna."

"Okay Luna," Serena said, "In case you haven't noticed, I'm just a 15 year old girl, although I turn 16 in a few months. So exactly how in the name of Mike am I supposed to save the world, like you claim I'm supposed to do?"

"With this," Luna said, jumping up, doing a back flip in midair, which materialized a circular pendant with a heart-shaped gem in the center. "Touch the gem on this pendant, and say "Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up", and you will be transformed into Sailor Moon."

_I'd might as well play along_, Serena thought to herself, picking up the pendant, and touching the gem in the center. "Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up!" She said. Next thing she knew, she was dressed in a white leotard with red sleeves that barely covered her shoulders, blue sailor collar bordered with 3 white stripes, short blue skirt with red waistband, blue elbow length gloves, each topped with 3 red bands, blue choker with gold crescent moon on the front, gold tiara with red gem in the center, red bow on her chest with the pendant Luna gave her in the middle, red back bow, and thigh high red boots with white trim, and the balls of hair on top of her head had covers on the front of red with a white border. "Ooooo-kay," Serena said. "This has officially gone from weird to completely batshit insane."

"Why do you say that?" Luna asked.

"Gee, I don't know," Serena said. "But I think it might have something to do with the fact that a talking cat gave me a pendant which turned me into something out of a Japanese cartoon. Things like this might be normal where you come from, but here in Sunny Hills, California, they are way beyond strange."

"This is no time for joking around," Luna said.

"HAVE YOU BEEN LISTENING TO A SINGLE WORD I'VE SAID?" Serena asked. "You, and everything that's happened since you came in here, are nothing more than figments of my imagination. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go and wake up from this crazy dream."

"This is not a dream," Luna said. "This is real, and you are Sailor Moon, and you ARE going to protect Earth from Metallia."

Serena somehow warmed up to the prospect of being Sailor Moon at that. "You mean it?" she asked.

"You're eager to defeat Metallia?" Luna asked.

"You better believe it," Serena said. "I don't know what those long-haired hessians see in them. I mean, have you even heard _Master of Puppets_ or _Ride the Lightning_? Both albums are somewhere between noise pollution and crimes against humanity."

"Will you please quit joking around?" Luna asked, getting irritated.

"I thought you told me I was going to be fighting Metallica," Serena said.

"No," Luna said. "I said you would be fighting Metallia. She's an evil sorceress bent on taking over the world."

"And I have to fight her?" Serena asked. "How do I do that?"

"When you fight her or her minions," Luna said, "You'll know what to do if you look in your heart."

"Great," Serena said. "So basically, I'm going to be both flying solo and learning on the job."

"You won't be alone," Luna said. "At least not for long."

"What do you mean?" Serena asked.

"You have allies," Luna said. "The thing is, I have to find them for you. And before you ask why you can't look for them yourself, you're needed to battle Metallia's minions. Speaking of which, I sense one of her minions is attacking downtown. I strongly suggest you go down there and check it out."

"How do I get there?" Serena asked.

"I'll help you," Luna said, climbing on Serena's shoulders. "I'm showing you telepathically where the battle is. Can you see it?"

"Yes," Serena said.

"Good," Luna said. "Now imagine yourself there. Yes, that's it."

DOWNTOWN SUNNY HILLS

Serena appeared downtown, where she saw a slightly demonic female floating menacingly above the crowd. As the female held out her hands, several people gave off an unearthly glow, and fainted. "That's it," the female said. "Give your energies to Metallia."

"This isn't happening," Serena kept repeating audibly to herself.

"It most certainly is happening," Luna said.

"A talking cat turned me into something out of a Japanese cartoon, next thing I know, I'm downtown, watching the devil's kid sister _floating_ a foot above the ground, and stealing energy from people. Come to think of it, I thought that hamburger I had for lunch tasted a little funny I guess it's true they don't check the expiration date on the ketchup."

"Will you please be serious for one second?" Luna asked. "The fate of the world is at stake here."

"Whatever you say," Serena said.

"Now concentrate on defeating your enemy," Luna instructed.

"How dare you steal the energies from these people," Serena yelled at the female.

"Who dares defy me?" the female asked.

"I dare," Serena said, striking a pose where she was looking at the female over her left shoulder, with her left arm bent at the elbow, and her left hand in the international sign language for "I love you", with her fingers pointed forward, and pointing at the female with her right hand over the crook in her left elbow(a pose she adopted as her "battle pose"). "I fight for truth, I fight for justice, I fight for Earth. I am Sailor Moon, and I will destroy all those who threaten Earth, and that means you."

"Sailor Moon," the female said, her left arm stretching extra long and her left hand becoming an ax blade, which she swung at Sailor Moon. "Now I know what to carve on your tombstone."

"I don't think so," Sailor Moon said, dodging the attack. "If you don't mind, I would like to stay alive, at least long enough to get my driver's license."

"And to think I was going to play fair," the demon woman said, splitting herself into 3 beings. "Prepare to die," all 3 said simultaneously.

A gold coated rose pierced the ground in front of the demon. "I don't think so," a male voice said, as the demons attacked Sailor Moon. She looked where the voice was coming from, and saw a male, appearing to be her age, wearing a sleeveless black _kekogi_ with gold trim over a long sleeved black mock turtleneck, black karate pants with gold stripes down the pant legs tucked into knee high black _jika-tabi_ boots, black sash belt, black armbands with gold trim, and a black ninja mask. The male was carrying a 6' long staff that appeared to be made of black metal, and had engaged 2 of the demons in battle.

Seeing this person take on 2 of the demons gave Sailor Moon the courage to take on the remaining demon. She ran towards the demon, and launched a kick to the face, knocking the demon down. She saw the male use his staff to take one of the demons he was fighting off its feet, and launched an _enziguri_ kick to the other demon with his heel, following it up with a jumping cutter. "Sailor Moon," Luna said. "Throw your tiara at your opponent, and say "Moon Tiara Magic". That's the only way to defeat this demon."

"I'll try anything," Sailor Moon said, removing her tiara. "Moon Tiara, Magic!" she yelled, throwing her tiara at the demon, destroying it, which caused the demons the male was fighting to disappear. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful," Sailor Moon said, "after all, I don't think I could have fought all 3 demons by myself, but who are you?"

"You can call me Gilded Rose," he said. "And I will always be there whenever you need me."

"Who are you really?" Sailor Moon asked.

"That is a question that will be answered another time," Gilded Rose said, disappearing in a puff of gold smoke, as quickly and as suddenly as he appeared.

"I don't know who you are yet," Sailor Moon said, transforming back to Serena Campbell, "but I bet you're a total fox underneath that mask."

CAVERN RECORDS

"So how'd it go?" Dianne asked, as Gilded Rose appeared in the back room, and changed back to Jake Slater.

"It went pretty good," Jake said. "I just wish the fight had gone a little longer, though."

"Why's that?" a white cat with a crescent moon on its forehead asked.

"You should know I'm a bit of a showoff, Artemis," Jake said. "I wish I could have shown off some more of my moves. At least Sailor Moon knows I'm on her side. Hopefully, we can find the rest of the team soon. As good as Sailor Moon and I are, I doubt we'll be able to defeat Metallia by ourselves. Hopefully, we'll find a way to do it without killing Beryl in the process."

"If you can find a weapon that may or may not even exist," Dianne said.

"The sword of light," Artemis said.

SERENA'S BEDROOM

"Oooo-kay," Serena said, as she returned to her bedroom, "this is officially the weirdest day of my life."

"Why do you say that?" Luna asked.

"I don't know what things are like where you come from," Serena said, "but around here, talking cats, magical pendants that turn teenage girls into something out of a Japanese cartoon, demons that can split into 3 parts, and ninjas that can appear and disappear out of nowhere are not everyday occurrences. The ninja appearing and disappearing out of nowhere, maybe. They are pretty good about not being seen."

"I wish you would take your duty as Sailor Moon seriously," Luna said.

"You're acting like everything that happened to me in the last half hour is something that happens to normal people on an every day basis," Serena said. "So will you please excuse me if I think I'm either having a weird dream, under the influence of some really good drugs, completely insane, or some combination thereof."

"And your point is?" Luna asked.

"You don't get it," Serena said. "You and I should not be having this conversation. What should be happening is I should be talking to you, and you respond with the occasional meow, not you telling me that I'm supposed to save the world from some evil sorceress. So if you'll excuse me, until I get used to the fact that the weirdness factor has just been cranked up to 1100, I'm going to get a little freaked out by this. Scratch that, I'm gonna get major league freaked out by this."

"So can I continue?" Luna asked.

"Might as well," Serena said. "You obviously didn't take into consideration that I'm not used to cats who speak English. You said I'm supposed to save the world from this evil sorceress named Metallia. Why don't you tell me how to find her, and while you're at it, show me how to conjure up a weapon of some sort, and I can kill her."

"It's not that simple," Luna said. "Even if I knew where to find Metallia, or I were able to draw her out, killing her would be a problem."

"What, is she immortal or something?" Serena asked.

"Not that," Luna said. "The problem is, if you were to slay Metallia, you would also kill Beryl."

"Who is Beryl?" Serena asked. "And why would killing Metallia also kill Beryl?"

"Metallia and Beryl are sisters," Luna said. "More precisely, they're what you would call Siamese twins. However, only Metallia is evil. Unfortunately, killing one of them will result in the death of both of them."

"Why can't I just take a sword, separate them, and kill Metallia?" Serena asked.

"It's not that simple," Luna said. "When Metallia first gained her powers, the first thing she did was cast a spell over herself and her sister. The only way to kill one without also killing the other is to separate them with the Sword of Light. And the second thing she did was to cast a spell over Beryl, so Beryl cannot kill herself."

"How'd you know I was going to ask why Beryl never just killed herself?" Serena asked.

"I would have asked the same thing," Luna said.

"And what's so special about the Sword of Light, anyways?" Serena asked. "And why is it the only way to kill one without killing the other?"

"The Sword of Light is a sword with a blade made of light instead of steel," Luna said. "It's a mythical weapon, and we don't know if it even exists. That is why Metallia chose it as the only way to kill her without also murdering Beryl. That is Metallia's greatest strength, using what could be perceived as a weakness to her advantage."

"A sword with a blade made of light," Serena said. "You know what, I have seen one before."

"Really?" Luna said, excited. "Where did you see it?"

"That's the bad news," Serena said. "It was in a movie."

"I never promised you this would be easy," Luna said. "I only promised you that you won't be going at it alone. You've already found one ally in Gilded Rose. And you are only the first of the Sailor Soldiers, it's just a matter of me finding the rest. I will find them, on that you can rest assured."

"And we'll find the Sword of Light," Serena said. "I'm sure of that. Don't ask me how, but I have a feeling that we're going to somehow come across it by sheer dumb luck. And one other thing I just thought of. I think there's something missing with my costume."

"What do you mean, missing?" Luna asked.

"I need a mask," Serena said.

"No you don't," Luna said.

"Yes I do," Serena said. "If I'm going to be a superhero, I need a mask, or a hood. Something to protect my identity. I don't know anything about this Metallia character than what you've just told me, but something tells me that if she found out who I was, she would find some way to use my loved ones against me. So, unless you give me a mask, you can find yourself a new Sailor Moon."

"I'm so sorry," Luna said. "I should have mentioned this before."

"Mentioned what before?" Serena asked.

"When you transform into Sailor Moon," Luna explained, "you project an aura around yourself which prevents anyone who doesn't know your secret identity from recognizing you as Serena Campbell. And rest assured that when I do find the other Sailor Soldiers, they too will project the same aura. You won't even know each other's identities until you reveal them to each other."

"So the reason I don't have a mask is because I don't need one in the first place," Serena said. "Besides, the only thing I could see with this costume that wouldn't look ridiculous would be some big cat's eye thing over the eyes."

"If you don't mind," Luna said, "I'm going to need to use your home as a base of operations."

"That might pose a problem," Serena said. "It's not like I can go up to my parents. If I went up to them and said "This cat followed me home, gave me superpowers, and told me I was supposed to save the world from some evil sorceress, can I keep it?", they'd have me tossed in the funny farm faster than you can say meow."

"I'll handle your parents," Luna said. "The ability to speak human languages is not the only difference between me and your garden variety house cat. Speaking of which, look into my eyes."


	2. Fire and Ice

SAILOR MOON:AMERICAN SENSHI-REBOOTED

By Eugol Dlareg

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is a reboot of an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Yoo-Hoo and Dr Pepper are registered trademarks of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Pepsi is a registered trademark of PepsiCo. Ruffles and Fritos are registered trademarks of Frito-Lay. Yoda is property of Lucasfilm. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg.

**CHAPTER 2:**

**FIRE AND ICE**

Friday, 21 March, 1986-Jake Slater's house 7:30 P.M.

Jake came home from work, and was handed a piece of paper by his stepmother. "What's this?" he asked, looking at the paper.

"It's an application," Corinne, Jake's stepmother, said. "For a box boy position at Food Castle."

"I appreciate it," Jake said, "but I think my job at Cavern Records is going to work out. Thanks anyways."

"So I guess you won't be going with us tomorrow to my cousin's," Corinne said.

"No," Jake said. "I'm going to have to work tomorrow. Besides, I don't mind staying with my aunt Wendy."

"I realize she's your mom's sister," Corinne said, "but I don't think you should be imposing on her like this."

"I'm not imposing," Jake said. "She invited me to spend the weekend with her while you guys are gone."

TWENTY MINUTES LATER, NEXT DOOR

Jake parked his 1962 Lambretta TV175 scooter in the driveway. He walked to the front door, rang the bell, and let himself in. "Anybody home?" he announced.

"I'll be down in a second," a female voice said from upstairs. "My mom'll be home later tonight, and she left some Yoo-Hoo in the fridge for you."

"Thanks Amy," Jake said, setting his duffel bag down, and going to the refrigerator, where he got out a bottle of Yoo-Hoo. He picked up his duffel bag, and went upstairs, drinking his beverage. He tossed his bag into the spare bedroom that had been set up for him, and sat down on the bed. As he finished off the last swig of Yoo-Hoo, a girl, a few months younger(and about 6 inches shorter) than Jake, with black hair cut just above shoulder length, and wearing a blue sweater, Capri length jeans, ballet flats, and silver wire framed glasses, entered the room and gave Jake a hug. "Hey Amy," he said.

"Hi cousin," Amy Anderson said. "My mom left some money, and I'm going to order some pizzas. What do you like on yours?"

"Pepperoni and sausage," Jake said.

Another girl, this one a couple inches taller than Amy, with straight jet black hair worn waist length, wearing a red tube top, blue denim miniskirt, and flat heeled strappy sandals which showed off toenails painted the same color as her top, entered the room, and gave Jake a hug. "Hi Jake," she said.

"Hi Rae," Jake said. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"When we go back to school after Spring Break," Rae Hinckley said, "you're gonna be seeing a lot more of me."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked.

"You haven't heard?" Amy asked. "Rae's gonna be going to Ride when we go back from Spring Break."

"Why are you going to public school?" Jake asked, as Amy left the room.

"I got kicked out of St. Ignatius," Rae said.

"What happened?" Jake asked. "What did you do?"

"I'll show you," Rae said with a sly grin on her face, as she went to close and lock the bedroom door.

10 A.M. THE NEXT MORNING, CAVERN RECORDS

"You got laid last night," Dianne Bryce said, as Jake entered and clocked in.

"How do you know?" Jake asked.

"I can see it in your face," Dianne said. "I can still remember when my younger brother lost his virginity. He was the same age as you are now. At the time, I was a student at Sunny Hills State, and it was around finals, so I was pulling an all-niter studying. He tried sneaking in at 1 in the morning, but I caught him. When you walked in here today, you had the exact same shit-eating grin on your face that he had that night. So, spill. What happened."

"You know my mom's twin sister lives next door," Jake said. "And my family's spending the weekend at Corrine's cousin's house in Bakersfield, and since taking time off the day after you start a new job isn't really all that hot of an idea, I accepted my aunt's invitation to spend the weekend with her."

"I don't blame you," Dianne said.

"But anywho," Jake said, "back to my story. I was at my aunt's house, waiting for her to get home from the hospital, and my cousin's friend was spending the weekend there, and that she had been expelled from St. Ignatius earlier that day. I asked her why she got kicked out, and she said she'd show me. Turns out she got expelled for making out with some dude in the 2nd floor boy's bathroom. Factor in that unlike the toilet stalls, the bedroom I use at my aunt's house not only has a door, but one with a lock, and the fact that there was no adult supervision at the time, seeing as my aunt didn't even get home until almost 2 in the morning, we pretty much let our hormones get the better of us. Only thing that would have made it any better would have been if I had some Barry White."

THE HOME OF DR. WENDY HARRISON AND HER DAUGHTER AMY ANDERSON

"So spill," Amy said.

"Spill what?" Rae asked.

"You know what I mean," Amy said. "Last night. You and Jake."

"What about me and Jake?" Rae asked.

"Did the two of you, you know," Amy said, making a circle with the thumb and forefinger of her left hand, and inserting the forefinger of her right hand into the circle.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Rae said, giving Amy a sly grin.

"You did, didn't you?" Amy asked. "What was it like?"

"It was the best 45 seconds of my life," Rae said.

"That's all it takes?" Amy asked, a little disappointed.

"You watch too many movies," Rae said. "I mean, someone who's as smart as you should know that movies always make sex out to be this earth shattering marathon. Remember the scene in _Fast Times at Ridgemont High_, where Damone and Stacy do it in the pool house?"

"I remember that scene," Amy said. "That's like one of my favorite movies. What about it?"

"It was just like that scene," Rae said. "Except for the fact that Jake had the courtesy to last long enough for me to realize he had put it in."

"Like you're an expert on sex," Amy said. "Remember, my mom's a doctor."

"I'm not saying I'm suddenly an expert on sex," Rae said. "The only thing I know more than you is I have experience."

"I'm so jealous of you right now," Amy said.

"I should be jealous of you," Rae said.

"Jealous of me?" Amy asked.

"Yeah," Rae said. "You live with your mom, mine died giving birth to me. And I know you don't see your dad all that much since the divorce, but at least he cares about you. When I was 5, my dad dumped me off with my grandpa, and since then, the only contact I have with him is a 5 minute phone call on my birthday, if it lasts that long. And my grandpa, I love him, and I know he loves me, but he's not exactly getting any younger."

"I wouldn't put it past your grandfather to outlive us all," Amy said. "You know as well as I do that he is, as Jake so affectionately put it, "too damn ornery to die". Believe me, the man is a whole lot tougher than he looks."

"You got that right," Rae said. "If he only had a dollar for every time he's cheated death. I mean, he may be a wrinkled up midget, but his mind is still sharper than a tack, and I wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley."

"Another thing Jake says about him," Amy said. "He says if he only had green skin and pointed ears, he'd be Yoda."

"But Yoda died in the last movie," Rae said. "That's what I mean. As much as I love my grandpa, I know he won't be around forever. And besides him, you and your mom are pretty much the closest thing I have to a family."

CAVERN RECORDS, 1:00 P.M.

"Hungry?" Dianne asked Jake, as he was restocking cassettes.

"Maybe a little," Jake said.

"Good," Dianne said. "You can finish the cassettes when we get back."

"Where are we going?" Jake asked.

"Build Your Own Hot Dog," Dianne said. "It's usually slow as anything this time on Saturday, so I close up for about an hour and walk over there. Don't worry, it's only a couple doors down, and today's a nice day."

A couple minutes later, Jake and Dianne were at Build Your Own Hot Dog. "Two jumbos," Dianne said to the guy behind the counter. "And what do you want to drink?" she asked Jake.

"Anything but Pepsi," Jake said, noticing the Pepsi logo on the menu board.

"You don't like Pepsi," Dianne asked.

"Not really," Jake said. "Pardon my French, but if I had my choice between piss and Pepsi, I'd choose piss."

"Dr Pepper okay?" Dianne asked.

"Perfect," Jake said, as he got his hot dog and made his way down the line. He slathered on some yellow mustard, and topped it with a generous ladling of spicy chili con carne(no beans), shredded cheddar jack cheese, and onions. He then scooped some potato salad into the lid of the carton his hot dog came in, and grabbed a bag of bbq Ruffles potato chips. Dianne topped her hot dog with spicy brown mustard, relish, tomato wedges, sauerkraut, and jalapeno slices. She got a scoop of coleslaw, and a bag of Fritos corn chips. Dianne paid, they got their sodas, and sat at a table in the back.

"So how you like working here so far?" Dianne asked.

"It's cool," Jake said. "But it didn't really go over too well at home."

"I'm guessing your family isn't too thrilled with you working for me," Dianne said.

"Mostly Corrine," Jake said, "when I got home from work yesterday, the first thing she does is hand me an application for a box boy job down at Food Castle."

"You aren't going to fill it out?" Dianne asked.

"Can you honestly see me working there?" Jake asked. "I'd fit in over there like an Eskimo would fit in at a nudist colony."

"You would stand out there," Dianne said. "And not necessarily in a good way."

"My dad and Corrine are friends with the manager," Jake said. "They said they would talk to her for me if I applied."

"Any other reason you don't want to work there?" Dianne asked.

"They tell me I would have a future there," Jake said, "with plenty of opportunities for advancement, and I could probably make a career there. The thing is, I don't plan on going to college anywhere close enough where I can live at home. I truly intend to go away to college. Besides, I have a sinking suspicion they would frown on some of my extracurricular activities, if you know what I mean."

"Speaking of which," Dianne said, "You have taken this a lot better than Artemis and I expected you to."

"You turned me into a super powered ninja," Jake said. "Granted, the fact that Artemis is a talking cat was a bit startling at first, but hey."

"A bit startling?" Dianne asked. "The first time he spoke to you, if the ceiling of the store wasn't in the way, you would have become the first person to fly to the reach outer space under his own power."

"It's just that I'm not used to talking cats," Jake said. "Besides, once I got over the original shock, I found being Gilded Rose isn't such a bad gig. And have you actually seen Sailor Moon? All I have to say is hubba-hubba. Now if being Gilded Rose made me able to pick up an electric guitar and play some wicked cool licks that have the power to make Eddie Van Halen green with envy, the package would be complete. Speaking of Sailor Moon, when can I reveal my identity to her? And learn hers, while I'm at it. If we're going to be allies, I think we should be able to trust each other with our secret identities."

"It might not be a good idea to reveal your identity just yet," Dianne said.

NOAH'S ARCADE, 3:30 P.M.

Luna entered, and made her way to an unused Sailor V machine in a back room. She climbed onto the machine, and touched the screen with her paw. "Voice identification, please," the machine said, in a mechanical, yet human male, voice.

"I love tuna fish and field mouse pudding," Luna said.

"Identity confirmed," the machine said. "Give us your report, Luna."

"I have made contact with the one chosen to take the mantle of Sailor Moon," Luna said. "She came through her first battle with flying colors, but I do suspect a problem."

"And what is that?" the machine asked.

"She doesn't seem to be taking her duties very seriously," Luna said. "She seems to think both myself and her role as Sailor Moon are either figments of her imagination and/or drug induced hallucinations."

"That is expected," the machine said. "You need to remember, this is not the Moon Kingdom, or your home planet of Mau. This is Earth, in the latter part of the 20th century. Like most humans, the mere fact of a cat capable of human speech is quite disconcerting, let alone her powers or the villains she will be facing. You've basically thrust her into a world that violates what she perceives as the laws of reality."

"Which is why I finally had to hypnotize her," Luna said. "Make her believe that I have always had the ability to speak, and that I had been training her as Sailor Moon for some time."

"You realize we frown on messing with the minds of humans," the machine said.

"Unfortunately," Luna said, "we don't have the luxury of waiting for her to become used to what has happened to her in the last 24 hours. Also, since I will be living with her, I hypnotized her family to believe they adopted me. I hated to do it, but sometimes we have to do what we have to do."

"I guess you're right," the machine said.

"There was one other thing I need to mention," Luna said. "During her first battle, Sailor Moon was aided by one who called himself Gilded Rose. He was dressed like what they call on this planet a ninja, except where a ninja would wear all black, his costume was trimmed in gold. The thing that struck me as most odd about him was the fact that his fighting style was similar to that of the Order."

"This Gilded Rose does seem to be a valuable ally," the machine said. "Once we find the other Guardian Princesses, he may be the one thing we need to tip the scales in our favor. Do you have anything else to report at this time?"

"No I do not," Luna said. "Do you have any other information for me at this time?"

"We have new intelligence," the machine said, as a picture of Amy Anderson and Rae Hinckley appeared on the screen. "The girl with short hair's name is Amy Anderson. She is a schoolmate of Serena's. We aren't sure if Amy and Serena are acquainted personally, but we do know that Serena is casually acquainted with Amy's cousin, a boy named Jake Slater. The other girl, the taller one with long hair, her name is Rae Hinckley. Although she, until yesterday, attended a different school, she and Amy have been best friends since childhood."

"You believe these girls will play a role in our battle?" Luna asked.

"Yes," the machine said. "It's your duty to find out exactly what their duty is."

"Understood," Luna said. "Luna out."

DOWNTOWN SUNNY HILLS

Amy Anderson was walking her bike across the street from the Bijou Theater, when Luna pounced on her head from a nearby fence. "You startled me, kitty," Amy said, as she grabbed Luna.

"Oh I'm so sorry about that," Serena said, running towards Amy. "My cat sometimes acts like some lioness, stalking her prey on the Serengeti Plain, or something. You know how cats are."

"Not really", Amy said. "I always wanted a cat, but I was never allowed to have one, seeing that my dad was allergic. What's your cat's name, by the way?"

"Her name's Luna," Serena said. "And I'm Serena Campbell."

"My name's Amy Anderson," Amy said. "You go to Sally Ride, don't you?"

"That explains why you look so familiar," Serena said. "So what brings you to this part of town?"

"I was on my way to the Lind Gallery," Amy said. "They had an exhibit on contemporary art I wanted to check out, but, unfortunately, they were closed today. So, I figured I would maybe catch a movie at the Bijou."

"I would have never guessed you were an artist," Serena said. "I would have pegged you as the studious bookworm type."

"Sometimes my mom wishes I were a little more interested in academics than art," Amy said, "seeing she is a doctor, and kind of wished I would follow in her footsteps. However, my dad was an artist, and I kind of took after him."

"Serena, I think Amy has something to do with our mission," Luna said in Serena's ear.

"Don't be silly," Serena said.

"What's so silly about being an artist?" Amy asked.

"Sorry," Serena said. "I was talking to Luna. She does the silliest thing, she pretends she can speak by nibbling on my ear. Whenever she does it, I like to play along with her."

Amy and Serena arrived at the Bijou, and the poster out front was a black and white photo of a young teenage boy in a dark jacket over a light colored shirt, standing at the seashore, with _Les Quatre Cent Coups_ in a handwriting-like font across the bottom. "I need to make a phone call real quick," Amy said, going to the pay phone. "Jake loves this movie, I want to let him know it's showing."

"I've never heard of it," Serena said.

"It's an old French film," Amy said. "The title translates into _The 400 Blows. _Jake said this was one of the films that made him want to be a filmmaker. This, and _The Red Balloon_."

"Is that the one where that little boy finds a red balloon, and it follows him all over the town?" Serena asked. "I remember the watching it in class every year back in grade school."

"Everybody's seen it in class back in grade school," Amy said.

CAVERN RECORDS

Business was slow, so Dianne had Jake clock out, just as the phone rang. "Cavern Records," Dianne said, answering it. After a pause, she handed the phone to Jake. "It's for you," she said.

"Thanks," Jake said, taking the receiver. "Hello," he said.

"Jake," Amy said, "I'm over at the Bijou, and they're showing _The 400 Blows_ today. I know both you and I like that movie, so I thought when you got off work, maybe you and I could go see it."

"I just got off work," Jake said. "When's the next showing?"

"Half an hour from now," Amy said.

"I'll be there in 10 minutes," Jake said. "If you can pick up the tickets, I'll pay you back when I get there."

BIJOU THEATER, 10 MINUTES LATER

"Want to stick around and watch the movie?" Amy asked, as Jake arrived. You're more than welcome to.

"No thanks," Serena said. "First off, I'm not really a fan of foreign films, especially when they have subtitles. Second of all," she said, motioning to Luna in her arms, "I really don't think she'd be welcome in there."

"The theater management does frown on feline patrons," Jake said.

"Hi Jake," Serena said.

"Hi Serena," Jake said. "What's new, pussycat?" he said to Luna.

"I got the tickets," Amy said.

"You know Jake?" Serena asked Amy.

"He's my cousin," Amy said. "How do you know him?"

"We have a couple classes together," Serena said, as she was leaving. "If I don't see you two around, I'll see you when school starts up again."

As Serena left, Jake and Amy were about to enter the theater, as Rae Hinckley rode by on her bicycle. "What're you two up to?" she asked, as she parked her bike next to Amy's at the bike rack and locked it.

"Jake and I were about to go catch a movie," Amy said.

"You're welcome to join us," Jake said.

"What are you seeing?" Rae asked.

"_The 400 Blows_," Amy said.

"It's one of my favorite movies," Jake said.

"What the heck," Rae said. "Anything's better than dealing with my aunt Myrtle."

HALF AN HOUR LATER, SERENA'S BEDROOM

"I can't put my finger on it," Luna said, "but there's something about your friend Jake."

"You don't think he's one of our enemies?" Serena asked.

"No," Luna said. "He's definitely not the enemy. But he is connected to your mission somehow. I just wish I knew how."

90 MINUTES LATER, BIJOU THEATER

"You know," Rae said, "I've never sat through a foreign film before. Especially not one with subtitles."

"This is the movie that made me want to be a filmmaker," Jake said.

"You're not grounded or anything, are you?" Amy asked. "I mean, after what happened with you getting expelled from of St. Ignatius and all, I would have thought your grandpa would have grounded you until you had grandkids of your own."

"No," Rae said. "Actually, my grandpa was kind of relieved when I got expelled, although I know my dad's going to have an aneurysm when he finds out."

"Why was your grandpa relieved?" Jake asked.

"It saved him the trouble of pulling me out of there himself next month when I turn 16," Rae said. "My dad insists that I be raised Catholic, but my grandpa thinks that's one area where I should have a say in the matter. Other than the 5 minute call I get on my birthday, the only thing my dad ever did for me was to cut them a check every year for my tuition, books, and uniforms. You know, I could imagine what my grandpa's going to say. "You should have thought of that before you just dumped her on me." I don't care, though. I'll be glad to not have to wear a uniform to school."

"I don't blame you," Amy said. "I couldn't wear the same thing every day."

"And I can't see myself looking like everyone else," Jake said. "I don't know why, but I have this need to stand out in a crowd sometimes, even something as small as drinking root beer when everyone else is drinking Pepsi."

90 MINUTES LATER, ROY'S PIZZA

After the movie, Jake, Amy, and Rae decided to go out and grab some pizza. They went to Roy's, a New York style pizzeria near the Bijou, and got a 21 inch pie with double pepperoni, and a pitcher of Dr Pepper.

After they finished the pizza and soda, they were about to leave, but Jake had one thing he had to take care of before they did. "I'll be back in a few," Jake said. "I have some personal business to take care of."

As Jake was coming out of the restroom, he thought he heard a scream coming from outside.

SERENA CAMPBELL'S HOUSE

"Get a move on," Luna said. "There's trouble downtown, near Roy's Pizza."

"Another one of Metallia's goons, I'll bet," Serena said, touching the gem on her pendant. "Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up!" she said, and was transformed into Sailor Moon.

DOWNTOWN

Sailor Moon arrived, and encountered a reptilian looking female. "Another one of Metallia's minions, I take it," Sailor Moon said.

"You think you can stop me?" the demon asked. "You can try, but it will be your funeral."

"I think not," Sailor Moon said, assuming what she adopted as her "battle pose". "For I fight for truth, justice, the American Way, and all else that is good. I am Sailor Moon, and you are going down."

"Now I know what name to carve on your tombstone," the creature said, throwing a weapon resembling a biohazard symbol at Sailor Moon.

Sailor Moon leapt out of the way of the weapon, which changed direction to follow her, until the weapon was knocked out of midair by a gold coated rose. "I'm afraid this one won't be as easy to defeat as the one we fought last night," Gilded Rose said to Sailor Moon.

"You call the battle we had last night easy?" Sailor Moon asked. "If it wasn't for you, I would probably be dead by now. Believe me, taking on an enemy that can split into 3 beings is pretty difficult when it's your first crack out of the box."

"But that will be a cakewalk compared to what you're in for," Gilded Rose said. "But you will not be alone."

"What do you mean by that?" Sailor Moon asked, as a crowd, including Rae Hinckley, came out to watch the battle.

The creature somehow sensed something about Rae, and fired an energy dart at her. Gilded Rose saw what happened, and knocked her out of the way of the dart, batting it away with his staff.

As Gilded Rose went back to the battle, Luna arrived, and saw a male symbol, which was also the symbol for Mars, flash on Rae's forehead for a brief instant. "She's Sailor Mars," Luna said to herself. Leaping in the air, she did a back flip, and a blue pen topped with a coin with the symbol for Mars on it appeared, and fell to the ground at Rae's feet.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Rae asked, picking up the pen.

"Hold me up," the pen said, "And say "Mars Power, Make-Up!"."

"Why do I need to do that?" Rae asked.

"It is the only way to unlock the powers hidden inside you," the pen said.

"What powers?" Rae asked.

"Just do what I told you!" the pen barked the order at Rae. "You need to become Sailor Mars now!"

"If you're gonna be that way about it," Rae said, holding the transformation pen up. "Mars Power, Make-Up!" Next thing Rae knew, the grey 1 shouldered sweatshirt, black jeans, and pink hi-top sneakers she was wearing transformed into a deep red leotard with cutouts on the sides and purple flared sleeves that resembled futuristic shoulder pads, a white miniskirt with purple waistband and deep red hem, deep red elbow length fingerless gloves with a single purple band on the cuff, white sailor collar with a single deep red stripe around, knee high deep red boots topped with an inverted purple "V", purple bow at the base of her collar with a deep red gem in the center, purple back bow, deep red choker, and gold tiara with deep red gem on the forehead. "Whoa," Rae said, seeing how she was now dressed. "This day went from zero to completely batshit crazy in 3.5 seconds. Now what do I do?"

"It'll come to you," Luna said, observing Rae's transformation. "Just look within yourself. When the time comes, you'll know what to do."

Meanwhile, Amy came out to see what all the commotion was about. She saw the creature, and people scrambling, and she saw Luna walking by, and recognized her. "This is no place for a cat," she said, picking up Luna.

As Amy picked up Luna, Luna noticed, for a brief moment, what appeared to be a symbol for female, but with horns on top of its head, the symbol for the planet Mercury, on Amy's forehead. "She's one of us," Luna said.

"Did you say something?" Amy asked. "Of course you didn't. Cats don't talk."

"You're going to find," Luna said, jumping out of Amy's arms, "that I am no ordinary cat." She jumped up and did a back flip in midair, which materialized a pen similar to the one given to Rae, but blue instead of red, and the coin on top had the symbol for the planet Mercury.

Amy instinctively picked up the pen. "What am I supposed to do with this?" she asked.

"Hold it up," Luna said. "And say "Mercury Power, Make-Up!". That will unlock your hidden powers and allow you to become Sailor Mercury."

"Might as well," Amy said. "Seems like doing what the nice kitty cat says is the only way this will make sense. Mercury Power, Make-Up!" She found herself in a costume similar to that of Sailor Mars, but where Sailor Mars' costume was deep red, Sailor Mercury's was royal blue, and where Sailor Mars' was purple, Sailor Mercury's was a lighter shade of blue. "Great," Amy said. "Now what do I do?"

"Sailor Moon needs your help," Luna said. "Look inside yourself, and you'll know what to do."

Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars went to where Sailor Moon was fighting the creature. "Mars flame ignite!" she said, throwing a haymaker with her right hand, which caused her to throw a fireball at the creature, staggering it slightly.

"That's it," Gilded Rose said. "You might not have hurt her much, but you did hurt her. "Now let's see what you bring to the table," he said to Sailor Mercury.

"Mercury fog surround!" Sailor Mercury said, moving her right hand in a slashing motion down and across her body, surrounding the demon in a fog which both impaired her vision and disoriented her, but was invisible to Sailor Mercury or the other Sailor Soldiers.

"Mercury! Mars!" Gilded Rose shouted. "I'm gonna need a little boost here!" Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury knelt about 40 meters in front of Gilded Rose, and laced their fingers together about a foot off the ground. Gilded Rose got a running start, and as he stepped into the waiting hands of Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury, they lifted him up, launching him towards the creature. Gilded Rose twisted his body in midair, so he delivered a kick to the creature's face, knocking it off its feet. "Sailor Moon!" he said. "Quickly, before the creature gets to its feet!"

"Moon Tiara, Magic!" Sailor Moon said, throwing her tiara at the creature, destroying it. "Good job, girls," he said, just before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"You know," Sailor Moon said, as Luna, Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury gathered around her, "This is a lot easier when you're not fighting alone."

"Good job Sailor Mercury," Luna said. "And also to you, Sailor Mars. By the way, Sailor Mars, where did you come from?"

"I was given these powers by a talking pen," Rae said.

"So tell me Serena," Sailor Mercury said. "How long have you been Sailor Moon anyways?"

"Actually, only since yesterday," Sailor Moon said. "And how did you know I was Serena Campbell, anyways?"

"Your cat Luna was the one who gave me my powers," Sailor Mercury said.

"How did you know Luna was my cat?" Sailor Moon asked.

"We met this afternoon," Sailor Mercury said, transforming back into Amy Anderson.

"Amy?" Sailor Moon said, transforming back into Serena Campbell. "Is that you?"

"Wanna know what I think?" Sailor Mars asked, as she transformed back into Rae Hinckley. "If we're gonna be a team, we should all know each other's secret identities. Now I already know Amy, she and I have been friends for years. I'm Rae Hinckley."

"Serena Campbell," Serena said. "I guess that makes it official. We're a team now."

"What about that guy who helped us?" Amy asked.

"He calls himself Gilded Rose," Luna said. "That, and the fact that he obviously seems to be on our side is pretty much all we know about him."

"Well, I know one thing about him," Rae said. "There's something about him that makes me want to jump his bones."

"Wait a second," Amy said. "You just heard a cat speak, and all you can say is that you want to have sex with some guy?"

"I shot a fireball at something that would blend in with the crowd at that bar in _Star Wars_," Rae said. "A fireball, I might add, I created out of thin air with my superpowers, that, I might add, were given to me by a talking pen. After personally experiencing something that ordinarily never happens outside of a comic book, talking cats are pretty low on the weirdness scale."

"Hey girls," Jake said.

"Hi Jake," Serena said.

"Where've you been?" Amy asked.

"You missed all the excitement," Rae said.

"The chili dog I had for lunch teamed up with the half of a pizza I just ate to come back to haunt me," Jake said.

"Rae and I will see you back at my house," Amy said, as she and Rae rode off.

"You need a ride home?" Jake asked Serena.

"You sure my cat will be okay on your scooter?" Serena asked.

"Just set her on the floorboard between my feet," Jake said. "Your cat should be fine there. I've ridden with my cat like that a couple times."


	3. Venus, the Soldier of Love and Beauty

SAILOR MOON:AMERICAN SENSHI-REBOOTED

By Eugol Dlareg

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is a reboot of an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Yoo-Hoo is a registered trademark of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. Disneyland is a registered trademark of the Walt Disney Company. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg.

**CHAPTER 3:**

**VENUS, THE SOLDIER OF LOVE AND BEAUTY(AND BRAINS)**

THURDSAY, 27 MARCH, 1986 CAVERN RECORDS, 2 P.M.

The first thing Jake noticed about the girl who walked into the store was her legs. Long, slender, and tanned, the feet in sandals which showed off the bright red polish on her toenails, which matched the polish on her fingernails. The next thing he noticed was the black miniskirt, which was designed to not only display her legs, but also to accentuate what he felt was the perfect female butt, and nicely contrasted with the white off-the-shoulder top she wore. He also couldn't help but notice her waist length blonde hair or her deep blue eyes. "Excuse me," the girl said, in what Jake detected to be the slightest hint of a Southern accent, "Are you by any chance Jake?"

"Y-y-yes I am," Jake said, with a slight stutter.

"Nice to meet you," the girl said, extending her right hand. "I'm Mina Parker, Dianne's niece. I just moved here yesterday."

Jake went to the cooler, and grabbed a bottle of Yoo-Hoo. He opened it, and flicked the cap into the trash can in front of the counter. "So, where did you move here from?" Jake asked.

"West Fork, Arkansas," Mina said, as she put a quarter in the _Sailor V_ video game in the corner of the store.

"What a coincidence," Jake said. "My dad's family lives in and around Fayetteville."

"Jake," Dianne said, from her office, "go ahead and clock out, and meet me in my office.

Jake went back to the shop, where Mina was already on the final level, and hadn't even lost a single life. "Ready to go?" Jake asked.

"Give me a couple minutes," Mina said.

Jake looked at the game, and saw her progress. "Damn," Jake said. "I've only been gone for 5 minutes, and you're already on the final level. How'd you do it?"

"There's a secret portal in level 1 that lets you skip ahead to the end of the game," Mina said.

"I never knew there was a secret portal," Jake said. "How do you know about it?"

"I know about it because I'm the one who put it in there," Mina said. "I'm the one who created and programmed the game."

"You created Sailor V?" Jake asked.

"You don't believe I'm a video game programmer?" Mina asked. "Is it because I'm a blue eyed leggy blonde who looks like a model?"

"That's not it at all," Jake said. "The reason I can't believe you're the programmer of the hottest video game of the last year is the fact that you're only a month older than I am."

"Programming video games is kind of a hobby of mine," Mina said. "It took me about 18 months to write the code. Not bad for a first try, I would say."

"I would have never guessed someone my age created that game," Jake said.

"Outside of my family and the certain high level executives at the company that makes the game," Mina said, "you're the only person who knows my secret."

THE NEXT MORNING, DIANNE'S APARTMENT

"Mina," Dianne said, gently nudging Mina, who was sleeping on the Murphy bed in Dianne's spare bedroom, "Deliveryman's here with your computer."

"I'll be right there," Mina said, half asleep. She got out of bed, quickly put on a 1 shouldered grey sweatshirt, black Capri's, and black flip-flops, and went out in the living room, where Dianne was talking to a deliveryman.

"I'm putting your computer equipment in the back room of the shop," Dianne said. "I use it for storage, but it's pretty big, there should be plenty of room for you to work in there."

"Thanks, aunt Dianne," Mina said. "That should be a good place for an office."

9:55 A.M.

Jake showed up and clocked in 5 minutes before the beginning of his shift. "How you doing today?" Dianne asked him.

1:30 P.M., HIGH SOCIETY NAIL SALON

"I can't wait to get my nails done," Rae Hinckley said.

"What's the big deal with getting your nails done?" Amy Anderson asked. "You do your toes on a regular basis anyways, so why are your fingers so special?"

"The appearance and grooming code at St. Ignatius bans makeup and fingernail polish," Rae said. "But a lot of girls there do their toes, since part of the uniform is knee socks and closed toe shoes. They figure what the school doesn't know won't hurt them. But get caught wearing as much as lipstick or fingernail polish, it's a one-way ticket to Mother Mary Ratched's office."

"Who's Mother Mary Ratched?" Amy asked.

"She's the nun in charge of discipline," Rae said. "A real battleax of a nun. And no, we didn't give her the Ratched name because of the nurse in _One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest_, Ratched is her real name."

At that moment, Amy heard a beeping noise coming from her purse. She reached in, and pulled out her transformation pen, and saw that the coin on top was glowing. "What is it, Luna?" she said, dragging herself and Rae in the space between the nail salon and the dry cleaners next door.

"Trouble downtown," Luna said over the transformation pen. "I need you and Sailor Mars to meet Sailor Moon and I near Cavern Records."

"Mercury out," Amy said. "Duty calls," she said to Rae, as she held up her transformation pen. "Mercury Power, Make-Up!"

"At least duty called before we got our nails done," Rae said, holding up her pen. "Mars Power, Make-Up!"

JUST OUTSIDE CAVERN RECORDS

Sailor Moon and Luna arrived at just about the same time as Sailor Mercury and Sailor Mars. When they arrived, they were greeted by a long haired, androgynous person wearing a military style uniform. "Greetings," the person said, in a voice that gave no clue whether the person was male or female. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Zoicite, and on behalf of Metallia, I will be killing you today."

"Not if we can help it," Sailor Moon said, assuming her battle pose. "My friends and I fight for truth, for justice, for Earth. We oppose all who threaten our way of life. I am Sailor Moon, and in the name of the Moon, I shall punish you."

"Now I know what to carve on your tombstone," Zoicite said.

"Is this a private party or can I crash it?" Gilded Rose asked, leaping from a nearby tree, and landing next to Sailor Moon.

"Be our guest," Sailor Moon said.

"With pleasure," Gilded Rose said, as he delivered a flying kick to Zoicite's face.

"You are so going to pay for that," Zoicite said.

"What are you going to do, Nancy boy?" Gilded Rose asked. "Hit me with your purse?"

"Wait a second," Sailor Moon said. "You're sure that's a man?"

"I had my doubts for a second," Gilded Rose said. "But there's one basic rule when it comes to androgyny. The better looking someone is, the more likely they are to be a guy."

"He does have a point," Sailor Mercury said. "Androgynous men tend to look like pretty women, while androgynous women tend to look like Ernest Borgnine in very bad drag."

CAVERN RECORDS

Mina heard the commotion, and came out of her office to see what it was. When she came out, she saw Luna. "Aunt Dianne," she said, picking Luna up. "When did you get a cat?"

"It might be Jake's," Dianne said. "He has a white cat that he's brought to work a couple times."

"This isn't Jake's cat," Mina said.

"You sure?" Dianne asked.

"You said Jake had a white cat," Mina said. "This one's black."

At that moment, Luna saw, for a brief moment, the symbol for the planet Venus on Mina's forehead. "It's you," Luna said, jumping out of Mina's arms. "You're one of us."

"I really think I should lay off the sweet tea," Mina said. "I could have sworn a cat just said something to me."

"I did speak," Luna said, jumping up and doing a backflip, which produced a transformation pen with the symbol for Venus on the coin.

"What do I do with this?" Mina asked, picking up the pen.

"Hold it up," Luna said. "And say "Venus Power, Make-Up!"."

"Okay," Mina said. "You are aware, kitty, that cats normally don't have the ability to communicate in human speech."

"I have been informed of that fact on a couple occasions," Luna said. "But I need you to assume the power of Sailor Venus. There are people out there that need your help."

"Whatever you say, kitty," Mina said, holding the transformation pen up. "Venus Power, Make-Up!" she said, and found herself in a costume similar to that of Sailor Mars or Sailor Venus, but in orange, with a pale yellow front bow and boot tops, and blue waistband and backbow, and a red ribbon in her hair. "Wicked cool," Sailor Venus said, rushing to battle.

Meanwhile, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, and Gilded Rose were busy fighting Zoicite. Gilded Rose had collapsed his staff to a length of 12", and had placed it in a specially designed holster strapped to his right thigh. He then reached behind himself and grabbed a pair of 18" _tonfa_, 1 in each hand, holding them by the side handle, with the main shafts against the outsides of his arms. He tossed the one in his right hand at Zoicite, which Zoicite was able to duck. However, the _tonfa_ acted like a boomerang, and came around, hitting him in the back of the head on its return, flying back to Gilded Rose, who caught it.

"Venus Crescent Beam Kiss!" Sailor Venus said, making a fist with her right hand, with thumb and forefinger extended, as if her hand was a gun. She kissed the tip of her forefinger, and pointed it at Zoicite, and fired a crescent shaped beam of energy at him, which knocked him off his feet.

"Mars Flame Ignite!" Sailor Mars said, throwing a haymaker, which threw a fireball at Zoicite as he got to his feet, taking him down again.

"Mercury Fog Surround!" Sailor Mercury said, moving her right hand in a swatting motion down and across her body, which caused Zoicite to be surrounded by a fog, which impaired his vision, as well as disoriented him, but allowed the Sailors to see him.

"Gold Rush!" Gilded Rose said, while leaping acrobatically towards Zoicite, while a night vision visor appeared over his eyes, attacking him so fast it seemed that he was actually in several places at once. While Gilded Rose didn't hit all that hard, the sheer speed and frequency of his attack more than made up for the individual force of each hit or kick. Although Gilded Rose's attack lasted only a second, he managed to land more shots than would be thrown in a fight that lasted 15 rounds.

"Now it's time to finish you off," Sailor Moon said, removing her tiara. "Moon Tiara, Magic!" she said, throwing her tiara at Zoicite, who was out on his feet, as a result of Gilded Rose's Gold Rush attack.

"Next time, perhaps," Zoicite said, disappearing a split second before Sailor Moon's tiara would have destroyed him.

"He got away," Sailor Moon said. "If only I was a hair faster on the draw."

"You did the best you could," Gilded Rose said. "You all did."

"I wish I could have done more," Sailor Mercury said, dejectedly.

"Don't let me hear you complain about being useless ever again," Gilded Rose said.

"But you've seen what everyone else has," Sailor Mercury said. "But all I can do is surround an enemy with fog. What good does that do?"

"Blinding your opponent is one of the most effective ways to gain an advantage in a fight," Gilded Rose said.

"He can't see us," Sailor Mars said.

"But we can see a silouhette of him through the fog," Sailor Moon said.

"Which isn't really much," Sailor Venus said, "but enough to make a decent target."

"Besides, Luna said, "you have other abilities, which, in time, you will learn to unlock. All of you will."

"Don't ever sell yourself short," Gilded Rose said. "You might think merely distracting an opponent doesn't do any good, but it does give your teammates an advantage. I'd love to stay and continue this pep talk, but I have other things to do," he said, as he removed a shiny black capsule, the size and shape of a marble, from a pouch on his belt. He tossed it on the ground, and was quickly engulfed in a plume of gold smoke, which disappated quickly, but covered his exit.

"One of these days," Sailor Moon said, "we're going to find out who he really is."

"Speaking of which," Sailor Mars said, "let's see who our new teammate is."

"I'm pretty much new here in town," Mina said, transforming back to Mina. "My name's Mina Parker."

"Amy Anderson," Sailor Mercury said, transforming back to Amy.

"Serena Campbell," Sailor Moon said, transforming back to Serena.

"Rae Hinckley," Sailor Mars said, transforming back to Rae.

"Hey girls," Jake said. "I just clocked off and I'm about to go grab a sandwich at Dagwood's. Anyone want to join me?"

"Rae and I were about to go get our nails done," Amy said. "But I think we can squeeze lunch in there."

"They do French manicures where you go?" Mina asked. "I've been wanting to get one for a couple months now."

"And I'm practically going to be living in sandals for the next few months," Serena said. "I'm thinking a pedicure might not be such a bad idea."

"Y'all can join me for lunch," Jake said, "but no way am I getting my nails done. That's where I draw the line."

"Aw, come on," Serena said. "It'll be fun for you to get a pedicure."

"No way," Jake said. "If any guys caught me with hot pink polish on my toenails, I'd never hear the end of it."

"Chicken," Amy said. "Bok bok bok bok."

"So coat me with breading, season me with Colonel Sanders' secret blend of 11 herbs and spices, fry me till I'm nice and golden brown, and serve my ass up with 2 sides and a biscuit," Jake said. "Besides, the smell of nail polish makes me puke."


	4. The Pretty Sailor Soldier of Earth

SAILOR MOON:AMERICAN SENSHI-REBOOTED

By Eugol Dlareg

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is a reboot of an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Yoo-Hoo and Dr Pepper are registered trademarks of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group. _Voltron _is a registered trademark of World Events Productions. _Come and Get It _was written by Paul McCartney. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg.

**A BRIEF NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR**

Yes, I realize that I did focus a little too much on Darrien in this chapter, especially for a subplot that has absolutely nothing to do with the main story. . . However, it does act as a set up to part of the overall storyline.

**CHAPTER 4:**

**THE PRETTY SAILOR SOLDIER OF PLANET EARTH**

MONDAY, 31 MARCH, 1986-DR. SALLY K. RIDE HIGH SCHOOL, MRS. HARUNA'S CLASS 1:55 P.M.

"Serena," Mrs. Haruna said, "I need to have a word with you in the hall real quick."

"Yes Mrs. Haruna," Serena said.

"Do you know what I have here in my hand?" Mrs. Haruna asked.

"No," Serena said.

"It's your last test," Mrs. Haruna said, handing the test to Serena. "Take a look at the score."

Serena looked at the paper, and noticed "100%" written in red and circled in the upper right hand corner. "you're mad at me because I got a perfect score on my last test?" she asked.

"No," Mrs. Haruna said. "I've been teaching high school algebra for the last 20 years. One thing I've learned in that time is when a student who shows as little interest in my class as you do does as well on tests and homework as you do as consistently as you do tells me one of two things. Either you're cheating, or algebra just happens to come naturally to you."

"I don't cheat," Serena said.

"I believe you," Mrs. Haruna said. "I have no proof otherwise, so if you tell me you aren't cheating, I have no choice to take you at your word. That's what bothers me about you. You're a very intelligent young lady, but except for the fact that you turn in your homework every day and consistently score at or near the top of the class on tests and quizzes, you just take up space in my class."

"Is this about how I never raise my hand in class?" Serena asked. "How I never ask questions?"

"That's pretty much it," Mrs. Haruna said.

"I only ask questions in class when I don't understand the material," Serena said. "I don't know how, but for some reason, algebra just comes easy to me. But I do have to confess, there was one time last month I almost did raise my hand in class."

"Why didn't you?" Mrs. Haruna asked.

"Melvin Green beat me to the punch," Serena said. "He asked the same question I was going to. When you explained it for him, I got it, so I didn't want to waste class time."

"Me explaining something is definitely not wasting class time," Mrs. Haruna said. "My job is to make sure you understand the subject matter, and if that means explaining something a couple extra times, I'll do it."

"But that time could be used to explain something else someone else doesn't understand."

"Point taken," Mrs. Haruna said. "Speaking of wasting class time, I think you and I have wasted enough of it today."

CAVERN RECORDS 4:00 P.M.

One thing Jake liked about working at Cavern Records was that during the week, Dianne mostly had him behind the counter, where he was able to do homework between customers. He was able to start on his homework right after clocking in a half hour earlier, and was just finishing up his algebra homework(which was fairly simple on that particular day) as he heard the ding of a customer entering. Although he didn't know the name of the girl who walked in, she did look familiar, as she was in his French class. She was a couple inches shorter than him, with light brown hair in a braid, and brown eyes, and was wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs sweatshirt worn off one shoulder, slim cut jeans cut a couple inches above the ankle, and white sneakers. Jake finished off the bottle of Yoo-Hoo he was drinking as she approached the counter. "How may I help you today?" he asked.

"I need some help finding a record," the girl said.

"I'll do my best to help," Jake said. "What record you looking for?"

"A song I heard on the radio," the girl said. "I'm not sure of the title, but it begins "If you want it, here it is, come and get it," or something like that. It sounds like a Beatles song."

"The song's called _Come and Get It_," Jake said. "The reason it sounds like the Beatles is because it was written by Paul McCartney, but it was actually recorded by Badfinger. We may have the 45 in stock, but if we don't, it's on the album _Magic Christian Music_, and I know we have a copy of that album in stock. I believe that would be found in Oldies."

The girl went to the shelves, and came back a couple minutes later, carrying a 45. "I found it," she said, handing the record to Jake to be rung up. "I really appreciate you helping me find it," she said.

"Not a problem," Jake said, ringing her up. "A dollar forty-nine, with tax, that comes out to $1.58."

The girl handed Jake a $2 bill, as _Why Can't This Be Love_ by Van Halen was played over the in-store stereo. "What song is this?" she asked, as Jake handed her the change. "Sounds pretty good."

"That's the new Van Halen single," Jake said. "I take it you haven't heard them with Sammy Hagar yet. I got the album the day it came out."

"Not yet," the girl said.

"Sammy Hagar's a good fit," Jake said, "but the jury's still out on Eddie Van Halen playing keyboard. I mean, his guitar playing is pretty much a trademark of the band. I guess with the new singer, they decided to tweak their sound a little. Still, I think if somewhere down the road, if someone were to do a soundtrack for 1986, this song and/or _Dreams_ needs to be on it."

"You look familiar," the girl said, as Jake bagged the record and handed it to her. "You go to Sally Ride?"

"Yeah," Jake said, tapping on the window, and motioning a police officer outside to enter. "Come to think of it, you look familiar to me, too. You taking French?"

"Oui, monsieur," the girl said. "Miss D'Arcy, 5th period."

"That's where you know me from," Jake said. "I'm in your class. I sit in the back row, right next to the door. My name's Jake Slater."

"I'm Susan Fairchild," she said.

As Jake and Susan were talking, Darrien Shields came to the counter, and put down a 45 of _Rock Me Amadeus_ by Falco, as Daniel Montgomery, Jake's stepmother's cousin, as well as an officer with SHPD, entered the store, and Dianne came to the counter. "Hey Jake," Daniel said.

"The cassette I saw you slip into your jacket," Jake said to Darrien. "C'mon, Darrien, let's have it."

"You are aware that as my employee claims he witnessed someone stealing from my place of business, according to Sunny Hills municipal code, I'm perfectly within my rights to do this," Dianne said, reaching into the pocket inside Darrien's jacket, and pulling out a cassette of _Master of Puppets_ by Metallica, still in shrink-wrap, with a Cavern Records price tag.

"Do you wish to press charges?" Daniel asked.

"Of course," Dianne said. "I've been trying to nail this lousy little shit-for-brains punk for over a year. Jake, you caught him in the act, you do the honors."

"Book 'em, Danno," Jake said, as Susan left.

"And don't ever let me catch you in my store again!" Dianne said, as Daniel led Darrien out. When they got outside, Daniel frisked Darrien, and found a copy of _Animalize_ by KISS, as well as a small pocketknife.

"How long is that blade?" Daniel asked Darrien, showing him the knife.

. "It's only 2 inches," Darrien said. "Slightly longer than your dick."

"With an attitude like that," Daniel said, as he cuffed Darrien and placed him in the back of his squad car, as another officer pulled up behind Daniel's car. "I wouldn't be surprised to find out you have a record as long as my arm. Keep an eye on this punk," Daniel said to the other officer. "I have to go take a statement."

"I suspected that hoodlum had been stealing from me for over a year," Dianne said. "But until now, I haven't had proof. Good job."

"Jerk goes to my school," Jake said. "At least, that is, when he's not in juvie."

"Why does it not surprise me he already has a record?" Dianne asked.

"But it'll be worse for him next August," Jake said.

"What happens then?" Dianne asked.

"His birthday's August 3," Jake said. "He'll be 18 next year, which means he can be tried as an adult."

"Why don't we go into my office to take statements," Dianne said as Daniel came back into the store.

"So what happened?" Daniel asked, once they reached Dianne's office.

"Well," Jake said, "I saw Darrien enter, and knowing him as I do, I kept my eye on him. He walked over to the cassettes, and I happened to see him pick one up and sneak it into his jacket. He hung around for a minute, I'm assuming he was pretending to still be looking at cassettes, and then went to the singles rack, picked one out real quick, and came to the counter, like nothing was the matter. As he walked to the counter, I buzzed Dianne."

"See that red light on my desk?" Dianne asked.

"Yes," Daniel said.

"That light, as well as the speaker below it, is attached to a button under the counter. There's a similar one in my apartment. Anyways, that's a system I set up in case anyone needs me for whatever reason."

"Anyways," Jake said, "I buzzed Dianne, and when Darrien came to the counter, I confronted him about the cassette I saw him steal. She checked him, and found it in his jacket pocket."

"That's pretty much what happened," Dianne said. "He buzzed me, I came out, and he confronted that little punk. I found the tape in his jacket pocket."

"You missed one," Daniel said, putting the tape he found while frisking Darrien on the desk. "Fortunately for you, the one you did find, combined with the fact that Jake did in fact witness him putting it in his jacket is enough to stand up in court."

"The one you missed doesn't matter," Dianne said to Jake, "at least not as much as the one you caught. Next time that punk shows his face in here, I'm having him arrested for trespassing."

10 MINUTES LATER, SUNNY HILLS JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER

"You again," the booking sergeant said, as Daniel brought Darrien in. "What did he do this time?"

"Shoplifting," Daniel said. "Also he was carrying a pocket knife, and he gave me attitude."

"Let me guess," the booking sergeant said, examining the knife Daniel showed him. "He compared this to a certain part of your anatomy."

"Pretty much," Daniel said. "As it turns out, the owner of the store where he stole these from", he continued, giving the tapes to the sergeant to be placed in the evidence locker, "she's suspected him of shoplifting from her business for a year, and some guy who's been working there for about a week and a half caught him in the act. He saw me outside, and motioned me to come in, where he confronted this punk. The store owner invoked municipal code, and searched him, and found the Metallica tape. I searched him after taking him into custody, and found the KISS tape and the knife."

"You should know the routine by now," the booking sergeant said. "You've been in here enough times."

"So can you hurry up and call my uncle already?" Darrien asked, getting irritated.

"You in a hurry or something?" the sergeant asked.

"I'm missing _Voltron_," Darrien said, sarcastically.

"You think this is a big joke, don't you?" the sergeant asked. "But I can guarantee you one thing, though. Once you turn 18, which, I might just add, is only 15 months away, give or take a week, you won't be coming back here. No, it won't be "Come in, have a seat, and wait for your uncle to pick you up". You'll be going to adult jail, and charged as an adult. Know what that means? It means you'll be doing hard time."

"Spare me the lecture," Darrien said. "Besides, I ain't doing no hard time. I'll be dead before my 18th birthday anyways, even if I have to kill myself."

"Hope you don't have any plans for tonight," the sergeant said, looking at a piece of paper a dispatcher gave him. "One of my assistants called your uncle for me, and your uncle told us he's not picking you up this time."

"You know as well as I do that you can only keep me until tomorrow morning," Darrien said.

"Unless the shop owner presses charges," Daniel said. "Which you know as well as I do she was more than happy to do in your case. You know what that means? It means we can legally keep you here until you go before a judge. Unfortunately for you, the earliest we can get you in is Thursday morning. So it looks like you'll be staying here for a few days."

"And when the judge takes your previous record into consideration," the sergeant added, "I'd be willing to bet that you'll be sent to Nellis until you're 21."

SLATER RESIDENCE, 8:00 P.M.

When Jake arrived home, he parked his scooter in the garage, and went in the house through the garage. He went up to his room to put his backpack away, and went into the kitchen, where he looked at a note tacked to the refrigerator door. _Jake-dinner in fridge-meatloaf_. He got a plate out of the cupboard, and loaded it with meatloaf, rice, and green beans. He topped the green beans and rice with butter, and put the plate in the microwave. While the microwave was heating his food, he made himself a salad, which he topped with croutons, bacon bits, shredded cheese, and homemade thousand island dressing. As he took the plate of now heated food out of the microwave, he took the plate and salad to the table, and poured himself a glass of milk with ice. As he began eating, Corrine, his stepmother, came in the dining room. "How was work?" she asked.

"I have to be at Juvie by 8 on Thursday morning," Jake said. "Don't worry, though. I'm not in trouble, I'm only there as a witness."

"What happened?" Corrine asked.

"I caught a shoplifter," Jake said. "Darrien Shields came in, and I saw him slip a cassette in his jacket when he thought nobody was looking. I saw Daniel outside, and got his attention, and when he came in, I confronted Darrien. Turns out that Dianne suspected him of shoplifting from her for a while, but never had any concrete proof. Now she does."

"I'm not surprised," Corrine said. "I've never actually met Darrien Shields, but I do know about his reputation."

"Everyone knows Darrien Shields' reputation," Steven Hanks, Jake's stepbrother said, as he got himself a soda out of the fridge. "I heard he was already voted most likely to do 25 to life."

"Don't worry," Jake said. "He and I are not friends."

6:00 THE NEXT MORNING, SUNNY HILLS JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER

"Get up," the military officer said, striking the bottom of Darrien Shield's bunk with his nightstick.

"Cool it pig," Darrien said. "I'm trying to sleep here."

"I don't think I made myself clear," the officer said, picking up Darrien's mattress and tossing it to the floor. "You will get your ass out of bed this instant and get dressed."

"I don't have to be in court for a couple days," Darrien said.

"Change of plans," the officer said, handing Darrien a uniform similar to the one he was wearing. "You're coming with me. Now put this uniform on."

"Do you mind telling me what this is all about?" Darrien asked. "Or, at the very least, telling me just who the hell you are?"

"My name is Colonel Malachi," the officer said. "I run a program for punks like you who obviously have absolutely no respect for authority. The program lasts 6 months, and is similar to military boot camp. I made a deal with the police and the owner of the store you were caught shoplifting from. They and I agreed that if you were to enter and successfully complete my program, the store owner will agree to drop charges. However, if you would rather take your chances with the juvenile court system, all you have to do is tell me what I can do with myself and my program. I must warn you, though, with your record, and the fact that the procecution does have an eyewitness, you will probably be sent to Nellis Youth Detention Center until your 21st birthday."

"Let me get this straight," Darrien said. "If I go with you, I'll be free in 6 months."

"Affirmative," Colonel Malachi said.

"However," Darrien said, "if I don't go with you, I won't get out at least until I'm 21. Last time I checked, 6 months was a lot shorter than 4 years. I guess this means I'm coming with you."

Colonel Malachi handcuffed Darrien. "This is just standard procedure," he said. "Until you are physically on the premises of my facility, you are technically still a ward of the juvenile justice system."

"Whatever," Darrien said. "As long as I get out of this place."

Colonel Malachi led Darrien out to a prisoner transport vehicle, and placed him in the back, and took a seat in back with him. As he was being led to the transport, Darrien got a brief glimpse of the driver. Although he wasn't sure whether the driver was a man or a woman, something in the back of his mind told him that was a question best left unanswered for now. As the door was closed, Colonel Malachi undid Darrien's handcuffs. "I apologize for the illusion," he said, as his close cropped hair grew to shoulder length. "but it was necessary in order to remove you from imprisonment."

"Not to sound ungrateful," Darrien said, "I mean, after all, you did just bust me out of the cooler. But what exactly do you want from me?"

"Your questions will be answered in time," Colonel Malachi said. "But first, a proper introduction is in order. My real name is Malachite, and I serve the rightful ruler of this pathetic planet."

"Malachite," Darrien said. "Am I correct in assuming that your busting me out of the cooler was for something other than making me a productive member of society?"

"That is correct," Malachite said. "My boss, the rightful ruler of Earth wants you to help my associates and I to take over this pitiful planet."

"And rule it with an iron fist," Darrien said.

"That is correct," Malachite said. "When people see you, you will see the fear in their eyes."

"Or smell the piss running down their legs," Darrien said.

"Even better," Malachite said, as an evil grin crossed his face.

SALLY K. RIDE HIGH SCHOOL, 2:55 P.M.

"So how do you like school here so far?" Amy Anderson asked Mina Parker. "Not the same from what you're used to?"

"I'll say," Mina said. "For starters, this school is a lot bigger than my old school. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if there are more students here than there are people living in my hometown."

"Where did you live?" Amy asked.

"West Fork, Arkansas," Mina said.

"Never heard of it," Amy said.

"Most people haven't," Mina said. "I'd say there's probably around 2000 people there, if that many. It's a few miles south of Fayetteville."

"Isn't Fayetteville where the university is?" Amy asked.

"Yeah," Mina answered, as her transformation pen beeped. "What is it, Luna?" she asked, as she pulled herself and Amy into a corner to hide.

"Trouble at Sally Ride High," Luna said.

"How convenient," Amy said. "School just got out, and we're all here at the moment."

In another part of the campus, Serena Campbell saw a particularly scary looking creature, which stood 8' tall, and appeared to Serena to resemble something you would get if you crossed a dragon and a praying mantis. "If I was a betting girl," Serena said, "I'd bet my life savings Metallia sent you."

"You would win that bet," the creature said. "Now surrender your energies to Metallia."

"I think not," Serena said, grabbing her transformation pendant. "Cosmic Moon Power, Make-Up!" she said, and transformed into Sailor Moon. "You will not take the energies of humans," Sailor Moon said, assuming her "battle pose", as she was joined by Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, and Sailor Mars. "I fight for truth, I fight for justice, I fight against the forces of evil. I am Sailor Moon, and I shall punish you."

"Sailor Moon, huh?" the monster asked. "Now I know what to carve on your tombstone."

"Not if we have anything to do about it," Sailor Mars said. "Mars Flame, Ignite!" she said, throwing a haymaker with her right hand, which threw a fireball at the monster, knocking it back slightly.

"You'll pay for that," the monster said, extending a claw, which grabbed Sailor Mars by the throat.

As the monster grabbed Sailor Mars, the claw it used was pierced by a gold coated rose. "Tell me something," Gilded Rose said, leaping down from the roof of the library, "You ever hear of a town called Mos Eisley? There's a cantina there, and you would fit right in."

"Gilded Rose," Sailor Moon said. "Thank goodness you're here."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Gilded Rose said.

Meanwhile, the monster fired several bolts of energy at a group of students, including Susan Fairchild, who dispersed at the last second. As Susan was avoiding the monster's blasts, she noticed Luna, and picked her up. "I have no idea what you're doing here, kitty," she said, as Luna noticed the symbol for Earth briefly flash on her forehead, "but this is no place for a cat. Come to think of it, this is no place for me, either."

"You are the one I'm looking for," Luna said, as she noticed the symbol for Earth briefly flash on Susan's forehead."

"Whoa," Susan said, dropping Luna. "I really need to lay off the cafeteria food."

"You could have sworn you just heard a cat speak," Luna said. "I've been getting that a lot lately."

"But why are you speaking to me?" Susan asked. "And why are you looking for me, anyways?"

Luna jumped up, and did a back flip in midair, which caused a transformation pen with the symbol for Earth on the coin to materialize at Susan's feet. "Hold that transformation pen up," Luna said, "and say "Earth Power, Make-Up!", and you will be transformed into the Sailor Soldier of Earth."

"Might as well humour the nice talking kitty," Susan said, picking up the transformation pen and holding it up. "Earth Power, Make-Up!" she said, and was transformed into Sailor Earth, wearing a costume similar to the ones worn by Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Venus, but her costume was dark burgundy, with a blue accent, and her braid tied with a blue ribbon. "This is freaky," Susan said, looking at her hands, noticing the fact that the nail polish she painted her fingernails with that morning was the same shade of burgundy as her costume.

"Your friends need you," Luna said.

"What am I supposed to do?" Sailor Earth asked.

"Your heart will tell you," Luna said, as Sailor Earth ran to where the battle was being fought.

"Earth Rockslide Barrage!" Sailor Earth said, making "jazz hands" and thrusting them towards the monster, which caused a stream of rocks to pelt the monster.

"Venus Crescent Beam Kiss!" Sailor Venus said, launching an attack against the monster.

"Mars Flame Ignite!" Sailor Mars said, launching her attack at the monster.

"I think I have something that might work against this thing," Sailor Mercury said. "Mercury Ice Storm!" she said, throwing a large snowball at the monster, which broke up into many smaller ice darts, which pelted the monster.

"Gold Rush," Gilded Rose said, as he ran towards the monster, hitting it with such speed that it seemed like he was hitting the monster from all sides at once. "Finish this!" he said, as he finished his attack.

"Moon Tiara, Magic!" Sailor Moon said, throwing her tiara at the monster, destroying it. "Now that we got rid of another of Metallia's goons. . . ," she said to Gilded Rose, before she noticed he disappeared.

"What happened to that guy that was helping us?" Sailor Earth asked, transforming back to Susan Fairchild.

"Oh, Gilded Rose," Sailor Moon said, changing back to Serena Campbell, as the other Sailor Soldiers changed back to their civilian identities. "He shows up when we need him, and when the battle's over, he disappears just as quickly as he appears."

"Do you know who he really is?" Susan asked.

"I wish I did," Serena said. "He never sticks around long enough for us to ask him who he is."

"I can't put my finger on it," Amy said, "but there's something familiar about him. Like he's someone close to me."

"I get that feeling too," Rae said. "Whoever he is under that mask, I feel like I know him."


	5. The Soldier from Jupiter via Brooklyn

SAILOR MOON:AMERICAN SENSHI-REBOOTED

By Eugol Dlareg

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is a reboot of an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: _BAM _is a defunct San Francisco based music magazine(the name was an acronym for Bay Area Music), which, by 1986 when this story takes place, had evolved into a magazine covering the entire California music scene, publishing separate Northern and Southern California editions, which were given away free at record stores. _Pulse!_ is a defunct in-house magazine published by Tower Records, where in 1986, it was given away free exclusively at Tower Records, which itself is defunct, as is Musicland and Wherehouse. _Hey Jude_ is a(now out of print) compilation album by the Beatles, which was released in February 1970.

**CHAPTER 5:**

**THE SAILOR SOLDIER FROM JUPITER(BY WAY OF BROOKLYN)**

SATURDAY, 5 APRIL, 1986, PANCAKE STACK RESTAURANT,8:30 A,M.

"I'm with her," Jake said to the hostess at the entrance, gesturing towards the small booth where Mina was sitting. He went over to the booth, and sat down opposite her, turning his coffee cup over on its saucer.

"There's one thing I want to know," Mina said, as the waitress came and poured coffee for her and Jake. "I know turning your coffee cup right side up is a signal that you want coffee, but what do you do if you want decaf?"

"You want decaf?" the waitress asked.

"Not really," Mina said. "I was just wondering how one would let the waitress know they want decaf."

"If you want decaf," Jake said, "when you turn your cup over, you put your saucer over it.

"There's something going on with you right now, isn't there?" Mina asked, glomming onto Jake's mood.

"My dad and Corrine had a pretty bad argument last night," Jake said.

"Corrine's your stepmother, right?" Mina asked.

"She's married to my dad," Jake said, slightly offended at the fact Mina used the words "Corrine", "your", and "mother" in the same sentence, although she actually said "stepmother". "I refuse to refer to her with any term implying a maternal relationship, even though she likes to think she has any claim to the title. Let's just say there's a story here, and leave it at that for now."

"I'm sorry," Mina said. "I didn't know that was such a sore subject for you. So where is your mom, anyways?"

"She lives in San Diego," Jake said. "She and my dad were divorced when I was in the 4th grade, and she had a great job opportunity in San Diego at the time. Since my dad was staying in Sunny Hills, everyone agreed that it would be best that I lived with him, that way I wouldn't have to change schools or leave my friends. They figured the less changes in my life, the better I would adjust."

"So do you see your mom that much?" Mina asked.

"I usually spend the summer with her," Jake said. "Other than that, I usually see her once a month."

"I'd like to meet your mom," Mina said.

"You've met the next best thing," Jake said.

"What do you mean?" Mina asked.

"You've met Amy's mom, haven't you?" Jake asked.

"Yeah," Mina said. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Amy's mom and my mom are identical twins," Jake said.

"What happened between your dad and Corrine anyways?" Mina asked.

"How much time you got?" Jake asked.

"That bad, huh?" Mina asked.

"Worse," Jake said. "The only thing I'm not worried about is the fact that they weren't arguing about me."

"They argue about you?" Mina asked.

"Sometimes," Jake said. "Truth is, my Corrine wants me to be a little more like her son Steven."

"What's he like?" Mina asked.

"He's a jock," Jake said. "Plays on the baseball and football teams. He's also one of those people who goes along with the crowd just to be popular. Funny thing, though, he's okay with me being a little different. In fact, when he found out I wanted to be a filmmaker, know what he said?"

"What?" Mina asked.

"He told me that when I won my first Oscar," Jake said, "he wanted to hold it, to feel how heavy it is."

"So you know what you want for breakfast yet?" Mina asked.

"I was thinking the buffet," Jake said.

"Sounds good to me," Mina said, as they went off to get their plates.

90 MINUTES LATER, CAVERN RECORDS

As Jake and Mina arrived, Jake clocked in. "Good morning," Dianne said. "Mind doing the periodicals today?"

"Sure," Jake said. He went to the back room, where he found a cart, on which was a box containing stacks of magazines, tabloids, and newspapers. He wheeled the cart out to the periodical rack, and removed the stacks, sorting them by publication. As he found each particular publication on the rack, he removed the old copies, and put them in the box, replacing them with stacks of the new copies. As he was stacking them, Molly Carter entered the store.

"Got the new issue of _BAM_?" Molly asked.

"Sure do, Brooklyn," Jake said, handing Molly a copy. "I was just about to put them on the shelf when you asked."

"Thank you," Molly said.

"You're welcome," Jake said.

"See the new issue of _Pulse! _yet?" Molly asked.

"You went to Tower Records," Jake said. "Don't get me wrong, I have nothing wrong with them. They do kind of seem like an independent store, unlike Musicland, Music Plus, or Wherehouse, but they're still too corporate for my blood, even though they carry a large selection of periodicals, as well as carrying more imports and independent releases. But that doesn't change the fact it's a major chain."

"What do you have against major chains anyways?" Molly asked.

"Nothing really," Jake said. "It's just that I actually prefer independent stores, like this place. Locally owned, locally operated, more focused on what the local community likes. Personally, I like how Dianne supports the local music scene, posting flyers and selling tickets for local shows, selling records from local bands, and even occasionally having local bands come in to perform and sign records. She even posts who's playing at Skate Factory every week. I mean, Tower does allow bands to post flyers on the bulletin board and leave them on the counter, and to a lesser extent, Music Plus. As for Musicland or Wherehouse, they pretty much cater to the Top 40 crowd. Of course, I don't really blame them, they don't have the space to carry a whole lot more than whatever's on the charts, or who's selling out the concert arenas at the moment."

"Anyways," Molly said, "Got anything new I might be interested in? Preferably something a little out of the mainstream."

"We did get something in yesterday," Jake said. "Local band called Pleasant Valley Sundae. I've heard them a few times at Skate Factory. Best way to describe them is to imagine if the Ramones sang about food."

"I love the Ramones," Molly said, going to the Local Talent rack and grabbing a cassette.

"Good choice Brooklyn," Jake said, as he rang Molly up.

As Molly left, Jake went back to stocking magazines. After he finished, he went behind the counter. Around 1:30, Mina came out of the back room. "How about some tunes?" Mina asked.

"What do you want to hear?" Jake asked.

"Surprise me," Mina said.

As Jake put the _Hey Jude_ album by the Beatles on the store stereo, his aunt Wendy entered. "Jake," she said. "I need to talk to you for a minute."

"Go ahead," Dianne said. "This sounds serious. "Go ahead into the back room, you'll have some privacy there."

"What's going on?" Jake asked.

"I just talked to your dad a few minutes ago," Wendy said. "About that little disagreement he and Corrine had last night."

"How'd you know about that?" Jake asked.

"I could hear it," Wendy said. "Got so bad, I had to put on some headphones and play Beethoven's 3rd just to drown out the noise."

"They did get pretty loud," Jake said.

"Anyways," Wendy said, "your dad told me that a few minutes after you left to go to breakfast, Corrine said that she was going to spend the weekend at her mother's, and she was going to be back on Sunday night."

"I already knew she was planning on spending the weekend with her mother," Jake said. "She'd been planning to for a few weeks."

"That's not the whole thing," Wendy said. "Your dad said she told him that if either he or you were still there when she got back, she would get the police involved."

"Crap," Jake said. "It must have been worse than I thought."

"He didn't tell me where he was going," Wendy said. "But he said he's going to wait until you get home from work."

"He's going to let me know what's going on?" Jake asked.

"That," Wendy said, "and help you bring your stuff over to my house."

"Your house?" Jake asked.

"That was the reason your dad came over to talk to me," Wendy said. "He asked me if it was okay for you to stay with me for a while."

"And you obviously said okay," Jake said.

"I told him that even though you were my nephew," Wendy said, "I love you as if you were my own son."

"I've always considered you more of a mother than I ever did Corrine," Jake said. "I mean, you are my mom's twin sister."

"I also told him," Wendy said, "and you already know this, that you are always welcome in my home, and you can stay with me as long as you want."

"Thank you," Jake said, hugging Wendy.

"Why don't you go ahead and clock out," Dianne said, poking her head in the back room. "It's pretty slow today."

"I'll see you when I get home," Wendy said. "Amy's waiting for you, but I have to pick up a few things at the grocery store. I need to get stuff to make tacos, and I also need to buy some cat food."

"Cat food?" Jake asked.

"Your dad told me that if Artemis was there when Corrine got back from her mother's," Wendy said, "she was going to, and I quote, "feed that damn walking mousetrap to the meanest pitbull in town". He didn't think she would actually go through with it, but he brought him over to my house, just in case."

"I wouldn't put it past her," Jake said, as he left. "She's never really been too fond of Artemis."

Jake arrived home 15 minutes later, and parked his scooter in his aunt's garage, which had been left open for him. He walked over to his house, where he was met by his father, Richard. "I'd like to get you out of here as soon as possible," Richard said.

"The feeling's mutual," Jake said. "Good thing I don't have all that much to take. Aunt Wendy told me you already left Artemis with her, and I parked my Lambretta over there. Pretty much all the packing I really have to do is my clothes and a few small things, everything else is pretty much ready to go."

"Anything you want me to take over there while you're packing?" Richard said.

"My stereo," Jake said, as he opened the top drawer of his dresser, and transferred the contents to a footlocker that had been placed on his bed. The footlocker was large enough to hold all his clean clothes from his dresser and his closet, along with his shoes(he was fortunate at the time to only have, aside from the pair of monkey boots he was wearing at the time, 2 pairs of sneakers, a pair of dress shoes, a pair of soccer slides, and a pair of rubber sandals), and he got his dirty clothes out of the hamper, and placed them in a large garbage bag, finishing as his dad returned, accompanied by his cousin Amy, and Amy's friend Rae.

"Hi Jake," Rae said. "Need us to help you bring anything over?"

"One of you can take my boom box over, and the other one can grab my amp," Jake said, as he put the last items of clothing into the footlocker. Before closing it, he took a pair of baseballs, each in a plastic ball holder, and put them in the locker. He then took a milk crate out of the closet, and put his records and tapes in it. He then took a gig bag, which contained an Epiphone Les Paul guitar, and slung it across his back. "On second thought," he said, as Amy was about to pick up a medium sized guitar amplifier, "you take my records, I'll take my amp."

"What about your clothes?" Richard asked, as Jake and the girls left.

"I'll be back for them in a few minutes," Jake said. "Besides, I have a few little things to pack still, anyways. Mostly books, and small stuff."

As Jake was leaving, he grabbed a shoebox from the shelf in his closet, and took that, along with his guitar and amp, while Rae took his boom box, Amy took his records and tapes, and Richard took the stereo speakers, one under each arm.

When they returned, Jake got a box, and packed his books, a few items which were on his dresser, along with the items on the shelf in his closet, in the box. He then stacked the box, along with the bag of dirty clothes, on top of the footlocker. "You girls mind grabbing my quilt?" Jake asked, as he slung his backpack across his back.

"Not a problem," Amy said, as she took the quilt, which Jake's grandmother had made him out of old Hawaiian shirts when he was 8, off the bed and folded it.

"We got everything?" Richard asked, as he and Jake grabbed the footlocker, each carrying one end.

"Just one more thing," Jake said. "There's a 6 pack of Yoo-Hoo in the fridge."

"I'll grab that," Rae said.

A half hour later, Jake had moved all his belongings to Wendy's house(with the exception of the furniture in his bedroom, which he didn't need anyways, due to the fact that Wendy had kept a bedroom for him at her house). "You going to need any help?" Jake asked his father.

"Not really," Richard said. "After I talked to your aunt Wendy, I came home and packed up my stuff. I just need to load a few things in the back of my truck. By the way, there's one more thing."

"What's that?" Jake asked, as Richard jotted something down on a scrap of paper.

"Aunt Sara's phone number," Richard said. "That's where I'm going to be staying, at least for now. If you need anything, don't be afraid to call. If I'm not there, she'll know how to reach me."

As Richard left, Jake and the girls took his stuff up to the room he usually used when he stayed there, and he got settled in. As he got settled in, Artemis came in the room, and Jake closed the door behind him. "Welcome to our new home," Jake said. "It might not be the Ritz, but at least we don't have to deal with Corrine anymore."

"If it makes you feel any better," Artemis said, "I didn't really like Corrine, either, and believe you me, the feeling was mutual. Know what she threatened to do to me if you hadn't taken me with you?"

"I take it you were the walking mousetrap she threatened to feed to the meanest pitbull in town," Jake said.

"I actually don't care much for the taste of mouse," Artemis said. "And I don't particularly care much either to be anywhere near a pitbull, let alone be lunch for one. I only have 9 lives, and I would like to keep as many as possible, thank you."

9:30 A.M. THE NEXT MORNING, SUNNY HILLS BAPTIST CHURCH

"All this time I've known you," Molly Carter said to Amy Anderson as they headed to youth group, "I never knew Jake Slater was your cousin. How come you never said anything?"

"I just never thought about it," Amy said. "I thought it was common knowledge, that everyone knew already."

"I thought I felt my ears burning," Jake said, coming up behind and between the girls, putting an arm around each girl. "You must be talking about me."

"I was just saying," Molly said, "I never knew you and Amy were cousins."

"For some reason," Jake said, "I assumed everyone knew. Than again, if Amy and I were Siamese twins, there would be some people who would be unaware we were even related."

"So how did you like the service?" Amy asked.

"It was a good service," Jake said. "Of course, this was the first time in a few years that I've set foot in a church."

"My dad's soon to be ex wife kind of frowned on me going to church," Jake said.

"Wouldn't it be easier to call her your step. . . ?" Molly started to ask, before Amy stopped her.

"Her name's Corrine," Amy said. "Jake's real sensitive about anyone referring to her as having any maternal relationship to him. There is a story involved, but I'll just say it's not my place to tell."

90 MINUTES LATER

"So how do you like church?" Molly asked Jake, as they got out of youth group.

"I like it," Jake said. "People here are pretty friendly."

"Hey Jake," Chris Forney, one of the students in Jake's Bible study class, as well as one of the class officers from the youth group, called to him. "You doing anything this afternoon?"

"Not really," Jake said. "I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do for lunch."

"I can help you out with that," Chris said. "The youth group here has a little tradition. First Sunday of every month, the youth pastor and class officers take the newcomers out and treat them to Sunday brunch at the Somerset Hotel. We like to call it our monthly welcome brunch."

"I love that place," Jake said. "My mom takes me there every time she's in town."

"And you're welcome to come too, Molly," Chris said. "I realize you should have come to the welcome brunch last month, but unfortunately, you had that flu bug that was going around, and missed it."

"I've never been to Sunday brunch at the Somerset before," Molly said.

"Oh, you'll love it, Brooklyn," Jake said. "Like I said, I go there every time my mom's in town."

"Brooklyn?" Chris asked. "I thought your name was Molly."

"Brooklyn is Jake's pet name for me," Molly said. "I was born and raised just a few blocks from where Ebbets Field used to stand, and the summer before I started the 6th grade, my parents decided that if Southern California was good enough for the Dodgers, it was good enough for us."

"At first," Jake said, "I called her that because of her accent."

"But it's become kind of a term of endearment," Molly said.

"I'll tell my mom where you're going," Amy said.

"Okay," Jake said.

When Amy and her mom got home from church, 90 minutes later, after they went out for lunch, Amy went up to her room and removed her shoes, grateful that she only had to wear high heels once a week, on Sunday. As she removed her nylons, she heard her transformation pen beep.

SERENA CAMPBELL'S HOUSE

Serena had just returned home from the beach, when she was greeted by Luna. "Trouble at the Somerset Hotel," Luna said.

Serena grabbed her transformation brooch. "Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up!" she said, and was transformed into Sailor Moon.

SOMERSET HOTEL

When Sailor Moon and the other Sailor Soldiers arrived, Gilded Rose was fighting a creature that resembled what would happen if Ed "Big Daddy" Roth drew one of Jabba the Hutt's minions from _Return of the Jedi_. "This is different," Sailor Moon said. "Usually, you're the one who shows up to save my butt."

"And a very nice butt it is indeed," Gilded Rose said. "I actually only got here a few seconds before you, and this thing attacked me."

"You need any help?" Sailor Mars asked.

"Oh, only all I can get," Gilded Rose said.

"Mercury Ice Storm!" Sailor Mercury said, throwing a snowball at the creature, which turned into flying icicles, attacking it."

"Mars Flame, Ignite!" Sailor Mars said, throwing a haymaker which turned into a fireball, which hit the creature.

"Earth Rockslide Barrage!" Sailor Earth said, making "jazz hands", which caused the creature to be pelted with rocks.

The creature, realizing that it was in trouble, acted out of desperation, doing the one thing it knew would focus the attention of at least one of its foes from it: it launched several bolts of energy at the patrons who were watching the battle. Gilded Rose broke from the battle, using his tonfas to deflect the bolts, as the patrons were evacuated. The creature launched several more, one of which was aimed right at Molly Carter. "Look out, Brooklyn!" Gilded Rose yelled, as he ran towards Molly, grabbing her with one arm, and leaping in the air, shielding her with his body, while he used a tonfa to deflect the energy bolt coming towards them. "Get out of here," he said, gesturing towards Luna, who had arrived on the scene, "and take that cat with you. This is no place for civilians, human or feline."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Molly said, picking up Luna, and running to her car. _It has to be him_, she thought to herself.

As Molly picked Luna up, Luna saw, for one brief moment, a symbol on Molly's forehead, one that resembled the number 21, but with the digits interlocked, so that they resembled the number 4, which was the symbol for the planet Jupiter. "It is you," Luna said, seeing the symbol on Molly's forehead, the shock of which caused Molly to drop Luna.

"Who said that?" Molly asked.

"I did," Luna said.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Molly asked. "I don't know if you realize this, but you're a cat, and cats don't speak."

"First off," Luna said, "I never joke about my duties. Second," she added, leaping in the air, and doing a back flip which caused a transformation pen with the symbol for Jupiter on the coin to materialize at Molly's feet, "you're going to discover that I'm no ordinary feline. Now pick up your transformation pen, hold it up, and say "Jupiter Power, Make-Up!". The other Sailor Soldiers need you."

"Might as well play along with the nice talking cat," Molly said, picking up the transformation pen. "Otherwise, I don't think I'll know what to tell people about this crazy dream when I wake up. Jupiter Power, Make-Up!" She found herself dressed like the other Sailor Soldiers, but in green, with pink as her accent color, and a blue ribbon in her hair. When she was transformed, she somehow instinctively knew what to do, and rushed into the battle. "Jupiter Thunder Crash!" she said, and a 2 inch antenna sprouted from the top of her tiara. A bolt of lightning hit the antenna, not harming her, but one that she channeled through her hands, forming it into a ball, which she hurled at the creature.

"Gold Rush!" Gilded Rose said, rushing at the creature at such a speed it seemed like he was attacking it from all sides. "Sailor Moon!" he yelled, once the creature was sufficiently staggered. "Now!"

"Moon Tiara, Magic!" Sailor Moon said, throwing her tiara at the creature, destroying it.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Gilded Rose said, readying to make his exit.

"Not so fast," Sailor Moon said, as she transformed back into Serena Campbell.

"There's something we want to know," Sailor Mars said, as she transformed back into Rae Hinckley.

"We realize you're our ally," Sailor Earth said, transforming back into Susan Fairchild.

"And allies don't keep secrets from each other," Sailor Venus said, transforming back into Mina Parker.

"And you're not leaving until we find out what we want to know," Sailor Mercury said, transforming back into Amy Anderson.

"So who are you under that mask?" Serena asked.

"I know who he is," Sailor Jupiter said.

"You do?" Amy asked. "How do you know?"

"He told me himself," Sailor Jupiter said. "Even though he might not have realized at the time that he told me."

"How did I tell you?" Gilded Rose asked.

"When you saved me from that creature's attack," Sailor Jupiter said, transforming back into Molly Carter, "you called me Brooklyn. There's only one person who calls me Brooklyn."

"You don't mean. . . ?" Amy asked.

"Yes, I do," Molly said. "I'm willing to bet my life that Gilded Rose is really Jake Slater."

"I was going to reveal myself eventually," Gilded Rose said, transforming back into Jake Slater.

"I know I'm your cousin," Amy said, "but we've always been more like brother and sister. How could you keep this from me?"

"Uh, Amy," Rae said, "You kept the fact that you were Sailor Mercury from him."

"Touché," Amy said.

"So what now?" Serena asked.

THE NEXT AFTERNOON, CAVERN RECORDS

"I never knew this room existed," Serena Campbell said, as she, Mina Parker, Amy Anderson, Rae Hinckley, Susan Fairchild, Molly Carter, and Jake Slater made their way to the basement of Cavern Records, along with Serena's cat Luna.

"I discovered it when I was first opening this store," Dianne said. "I was planning to turn it into a dance club for teens, and bring in live bands, but the city wouldn't give me the proper permits. That's why I was behind Skate Factory having live bands."

"I only discovered it myself last week," Jake said. "I figured it would make a great headquarters for the team."

"So we're a team now?" Serena asked. "You're one of us?"

"We seem to be fighting the same battle," Jake said. "Makes perfect sense for me to officially team up with you."

"This a private party or can I join in?" Artemis said, as he made his way down to the basement.

"Hey Artemis," Jake said, as Artemis took a seat at the head of the beanbag Jake was sitting on, "you're as much a part of the team as I am."

"Artemis," Luna said, when she saw him. "You work with Gilded Rose?"

"What's new, pussycat?" Artemis said to Luna. "I'm his guardian cat."

"That explains why Gilded Rose fights like a member of the Order," Luna said.

"I don't know anything about any Order," Jake said. "All I know is, Artemis gave me powers to fight Metallia, and that's what I'm doing."

"Back when Metallia first attacked the Moon Kingdom," Luna said, "The Order were amongst Queen Serenity's most loyal allies."

"Quite appropriate," Jake said, "seeing as I'm the Sailor Soldiers' most loyal ally."

"I don't know much about Queen Serenity, or the Moon Kingdom, or the Order, or anything that happened all those years ago," Dianne said, "but seeing that I'm a sworn ally of Jake and Artemis, along with the fact that one of you just happens to be my dearly departed sister's daughter, I'm with you 1000%. And since the city won't let me use this cellar for a teen dance club, I'm offering it to you free of charge as a headquarters. You can use it for meetings, to plan strategy, heck, even just to kick off your boots and rest between battles."


	6. Origin of Gilded Rose

SAILOR MOON:AMERICAN SENSHI-REBOOTED

By Eugol Dlareg

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon and Toki*Meka were originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is a reboot of an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg.

**SIDE STORY**

**THE ORIGIN OF GILDED ROSE**

Hey, it's me, Jake Slater here. We're doing things a bit differently here in this story, seeing as I'm kind of like the author's "baby", so to speak. Not his real flesh and blood offspring, mind you, but as close to a real child as he really wants to have. I'm actually the author's original creation, unlike most of the other main characters in the story. Actually, in this version(he's written several versions of me, including my appearances in all 3 versions of Sailor Moon he's written), I'm not his only original character, as he does add a Sailor Earth, as well as the fact that he has Molly(or Naru, for those who use the original Japanese names for characters) as Sailor Jupiter instead of Lita(or Makoto). Not that he doesn't like Lita, mind you. He had planned from the get-go to use Molly as a Sailor Soldier, and since he was rebooting the series from the ground up(if you haven't read the original American Senshi series from 2001-2005, go ahead and look it up and read it. . . I'll wait, I have all the time in the world), he thought replacing Lita with Molly as one of the inners would be a good way to change things up, as well as adding a Sailor Earth from the get-go. And also the fact that I replace Tuxedo Mask/Darrien(Tuxedo Kamen/Endymion/Mamoru), both as an ally of the Sailor Soldiers, and as a romantic interest for Sailor Moon/Serena(Usagi). Another change in this version is the fact that Artemis is my guardian cat instead of Mina's.

_Hey, this is Eugol Dlareg here, inserting myself in this story for a second to remind all you nice readers that I did not create Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi did. All I'm doing with it is creating my own interpretation of the characters and concepts created by Naoko Takeuchi, as a tribute to her work, as well as an alternate reality of her creations, and no disrespect or copyright infringement is intended. But hey, at least this isn't the proposed Toon Makers version. . . _

Anyways, back to me. I realize I never said why we're doing this particular story this way. The reason I'm telling this story in the first person is because this is my origin story. I know, you read chapter 1, and I just showed up, no origin, no how I became Gilded Rose, no nothing. I want you to kind of think of this as a bonus chapter, separate from the main story, but still part of it. This story actually begins a few days before the story begins. Seeing as I wasn't there when part of this happened, I think I'll turn things over to my feline associate Artemis, and he'll fill in the blanks.

Good day, my name is Artemis, and I'm Jake Slater's guardian cat. I know, I'm supposed to be Mina's guardian cat, or Minako, depending on whether you're more familiar with the English dub or the original Japanese. Anywho, what name she uses isn't really important to this story, though. My part of this story begins a few days before the first chapter of this story. The first chapter took place on a Friday, this story takes place the previous Monday. I had gone to my headquarters to check in when. . .

"I love tuna fish and field mouse pudding," I said, as I touched the screen of the unused(as well as supposedly non-operating) _Toki*Meka_ machine in the basement of the arcade I used as a base of operations(I would like to point out that as much as I actually do like tuna fish, I really don't care much for the taste of mouse, especially field mouse. And frankly, I find the combination of tuna fish and field mouse to be especially gross, but that's just my opinion, and not really important to this story, but anyways. . . ).

"We have new information," the voice at the other end told me. "We have found the person Jacara was reborn as. We have a picture of him, but unfortunately, we don't have a name."

A picture of Jake appeared on the screen. "I know him," I said, looking at the picture. "He actually adopted me a couple months ago. His name is Jake Slater."

"A fortunate bit of serendipity," the voice said. "Our intelligence shows that at this moment, he is at Cavern Records, where he is apparently in the process of applying for employment."

"I'll head over there right now," I said. At this point, I'd like to turn this story back over to Jake.

Hey, it's me, Jake, again. Anyways, Artemis just explained how he found out I was Gilded Rose. Not really a ground-shattering epic story, but that's pretty much what happened. But back to the story. My dad and Corrine(one of these days I'll go into details, but there's some issues between Corrine and I, and because of those issues, I refuse to refer to her as my stepmother) had been on me to get an after school job. Corrine had wanted me to apply at Food Castle, though. She and my dad knew the manager, and they were going to put in a good word for me there. I never made it there, if I had even had any intention of applying there in the first place. As I rode my 1962 Lambetta TV175 past Cavern Records, I saw a HELP WANTED sign in the window. I parked my scooter out front, and went in. I had made an attempt to be presentable, although I was wearing jeans, they had been freshly laundered the day before, and I was wearing a short sleeved blue and white striped shirt that I had ironed that morning over a blue t-shirt, and I had washed my hair that morning as well, and I had shined my boots the night before. Besides, this was an independent record store, and I had the feeling I wouldn't be required to wear a 3 piece suit to work. "I'm here about the job," I said to the lady at the counter.

"There's a table in the back where you can fill this out," she said, handing me an application. "Do you need a pen?"

"No thanks," I said, taking a pen out of the pocket of my shirt. "I brought one of my own."

I took the application to the back of the store, where a table had been set up with a couple chairs, and filled out the application. It took me about 10 minutes to complete it, and when I did, I signed it and took it back to the front counter. The lady at the counter looked it over, and took me in the back for an interview, where I found out her name was Dianne, and she was the owner of the store. She asked me a few questions, mostly about how she thought I would do at the job. Afterwards, she asked if I had any questions, and I had a couple. After she answered my questions, she had one last question for me: "Will you be able to start on Friday?" she asked.

"Yes I can," I said.

"Good," Dianne said, handing me a packet of forms. "You're hired. "I need you to fill these out, and bring them back tomorrow. And bring your Social Security card with you, I'm going to need to make a copy of it."

As we went back up to the front, the only other person in the store, a young woman in punk clothes, left. As she left, Artemis came in through the open door. "Hi Artemis," I said, recognizing my own cat. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a very important mission for you, Jake," Artemis said. When I heard him speak, the fact that I was indoors and there was a ceiling in the way was the only thing keeping me from becoming the first person to reach outer space without the use of aircraft or spacecraft of any kind. I mean, if I had been playing for the Lakers at that moment, I would have been able to do a slam dunk if the baskets had been placed on the rafters of the Forum.

"Is something wrong?" Artemis asked.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I could have sworn I just heard my cat speak."

"Cats don't speak," Dianne said. "At least they normally don't. But I know I did hear yours speak."

"I did speak," Artemis said. "And you are?"

"Dianne Bryce," Dianne said. "I just hired Jake."

"So that's what he was doing here," Artemis said.

"So what do you want with Jake anyways?" Dianne asked.

"I have an important task for him," Artemis said.

"This day is getting freakier by the minute," I said.

"You're telling me," Dianne said. "That's the last time I ever eat brownies from the Alice B. Toklas Bakery."

"And I'm straight edge, so I can't even use drugs as an excuse," I said.

"What are you two talking about?" Artemis asked.

"Marijuana brownies," I said. "Alice B. Toklas is a slang term for marijuana brownies."

"She wrote a cookbook in which one of the recipes is a brownie-like fudge which contained marijuana," Dianne said. "But enough about that, I want to know, and I'm almost certain Jake does too, what exactly is going on here."

"I was about to get to that," Artemis said. "Anyways, Jake, I have come to unlock your powers."

"What powers?" I asked.

"The powers you will use to help restore the Moon Kingdom," Artemis said.

"I didn't know there was a Moon Kingdom," I said.

"There isn't," Artemis said. "At least, not anymore. "It was destroyed 10,000 years ago by an evil sorceress named Metallia."

"And what does all this have to do with me?" I asked.

"When Queen Serenity was killed, she sent her daughter, the Princess Serenity, along with the Guardian Princesses of the Inner Planets, to be reborn on Earth at such time as they would be needed to once again battle Metallia."

"That sounds like something out a Japanese comic book," I said. "Just one thing," I said, as a realization hit me.

"What's that?" Artemis asked.

"Don't get me wrong," I said. "I'm with you on the whole "help battle an evil sorceress" part, but I kind of draw the line at having to swap my plumbing out to do it, if you know what I mean."

"I'm not sure I know what you're getting at," Artemis said.

"I think I do," Dianne said. "He's afraid you're going to turn him into a girl."

"Why would he think that?" Artemis asked.

"I've never met this Princess Serenity or any of the Guardian Princesses of the Inner Planets before," Dianne said, "But princesses are always female."

"Oh that," Artemis said. "You don't have to worry about that. Along with the Princess Serenity and the Guardian Princesses, Queen Serenity also sent Jacara."

"Who's Jacara?" I asked.

"He's the last surviving member of the Order," Artemis said. "And also the person you were reborn from."

"That's a relief," I said. "Let's just say that there are certain parts I've grown quite attached to. Besides, I don't think my dad would be too happy if I left the house in the morning as his son, and came home in the evening as his daughter."

"If you're going to assume your mantle as the final survivor of the Order," Artemis said, jumping up and kicking his back paws like a bucking horse, "you'll need this."

As Artemis kicked his feet, a gold coated rose fell to the ground at my feet. "What's this?" I asked.

"That was Jacara's calling card," Artemis said. "A gilded rose. Also, it's the secret to unlocking your powers. To activate your powers, simply throw the rose down at your feet."

"Like this?" I asked, throwing the rose down. I was surrounded by a gold mist, and when it disappeared, I was dressed in a ninja costume, black with gold trim, albeit sans mask. "Wicked cool," I said. "What is this?"

"That is the battle uniform of the Order," Artemis said.

"Anywho," I said, "what is this Order you're talking about?"

"The Order are Queen Serenity's sworn protectors," Artemis said. "When Metallia and her forces attacked, the Order was wiped out to the last man, save Jacara. However, he didn't survive the attack unscathed."

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"He was betrayed by Endymion," Artemis said. "Endymion was one of Queen Serenity's most trusted allies, or so we thought. When Metallia attacked, he showed his true colors. He stabbed Jacara, while pledging allegiance to Metallia. Fortunately, Jacara was able to get to a healer in time, so he survived. He was then sent to be reborn along with the Princesses. And that is where you come in."

"I don't know anything about any Order," I said. "But I'm in. Now all I have to do is find the Princess Serenity, and the Guardian Princesses, whoever they are, and go and destroy this Metallia character."

"I'm afraid it's not going to be that easy," Artemis said.

"Yeah," I said. "For starters, I have no idea where to start looking for the Princesses."

"Finding Princess Serenity and the Guardian Princesses of the Inner Planets is the easy part," Artemis said. "As for killing Metallia, that's, as the saying go, a different story entirely."

"Don't tell me she's immortal or something," I said.

"Nothing of the sort," Artemis said. "Although she ages at a vastly slowed rate, she is in fact mortal. She can be killed."

"Great," I said. "Just let me get my hands on an Uzi, take me to her, and I'll just fill her so full of holes that her shadow will have polka dots."

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy," Artemis said.

"Don't tell me her skin's made of Kevlar," I said.

"It's not like that," Artemis said. "The thing is, you can kill Metallia, but if you do, you'll also kill Beryl."

"Beryl?" I asked. "Who in Sam Hill is Beryl?"

"Beryl is one of our allies," Artemis said.

"Okay," I said. "Beryl might be one of our allies, but that doesn't explain why she'll die too if I kill Metallia."

"Metallia and Beryl are what you would call Siamese twins," Artemis said.

"Okay," I said. "Forget the Uzi. Just get me a big ass battleaxe and I'll take care of it with 2 swings. Separate them with the first swing, and with the second, I'll just cut Metallia's head off."

"If it were only that easy," Artemis said. "Unfortunately, even if you were to sever their physical bond first, if you kill Metallia, Beryl will also die."

"That will pose a problem," I said.

"I have a question," Dianne said. "Is there any way to kill this Metallia without also killing Beryl?"

"Yes and no," Artemis said.

"Is it yes or no?" I asked.

"Yes you can kill Metallia without also killing Beryl," Artemis said.

"Than why did you say "yes and no"?" I asked.

"Because the only way to do it is to separate them with the Sword of Light before you kill Metallia," Artemis said.

"I'm guessing this Sword of Light may not actually exist," I said.

"You are correct," Artemis said. "The Sword of Light is a mythical weapon, one we have no proof it actually exists. A sword with a blade made of light instead of metal."

"What is it?" Dianne asked, seeing the look in my face, as I took my mask off.

"I've seen it before," I said.

"You have?" Artemis asked.

"And now for the bad news," I said. "It was in a movie."

"I just thought of something," Dianne said.

"What's that?" Artemis asked.

"You have no proof it even exists," Dianne said. "On the other hand, you have no proof it doesn't exist."

"I never thought of it that way," Artemis said.

"I'm guessing the fact this weapon may or may not actually exist has something to do with the fact that the only way to kill Metallia without also killing Beryl involves it," I said.

"That is correct," Artemis said.

"That's what I would do if I was in Metallia's shoes," I said. "Beryl might be a liability, but Metallia's using her as a human shield. And I'm supposed to stop this Metallia person."

"You won't be alone," Artemis said. "Don't forget about Princess Serenity and the Guardian Princesses."

"How will I know them?" I asked.

"You will know them when you find them," Artemis said.

"One more thing," I said.

"What's that?" Artemis asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I think I'm gonna like this whole superhero business, with the secret identity and all," I said, "but the whole concept of a secret identity only works if I can switch back to it on occasion."

"Just throw the rose down at your feet again to change back," Artemis said.

I threw the gold rose down at my feet, and changed back to my regular self. "Just one thing I'm going to need," I said.

"What's that?" Artemis asked.

"A mask," I said. "A hooded mask, to cover my face."

"You don't need one," Artemis said. "While you're powered up, you're surrounded by an aura that prevents anyone from being able to identify you. It obscures your face, distorts your voice, and if you were to remove your gloves, it would even prevent you from leaving fingerprints."

"But I'd still like a mask," I said. "A hooded mask, like what a ninja would wear. It would really tie this uniform together."

"Done," Artemis said.

"So what are you going to call yourself?" Dianne asked.

"She brings up a good point," Artemis said. "We need to come up with a name you can use."

"I already thought of that," I said. "You told me that Jacara's calling card was a gilded rose. I think that would be a perfect name for me to use."

Anywho, that's the end of the flashback. I know it's not much, but it does kind of fill in the gaps a little bit. It explains not only how I became Gilded Rose, but how my boss(who just happens to be [SPOILER ALERT] Sailor Venus' aunt) knew about my secret identity.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled fanfic.


	7. Endymion

SAILOR MOON:AMERICAN SENSHI-REBOOTED

By Eugol Dlareg

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is a reboot of an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg.

**CHPATER 6:**

**ENDYMION**

MONDAY, 21 APRIL, 1986, THE BASEMENT OF CAVERN RECORDS, 4:30 P.M.

The past 2 weeks had been good to Jake Slater. The best part was that Corrine, the woman married to his dad (he refused to even consider her his stepmother) had kicked both him and Jake out of the house, and served his dad with divorce papers. While that might not sound like a good thing, Jake and Corrine didn't really get along all that well, and Jake was now living with his aunt Wendy, his mom's twin sister. He thought of his aunt as his second mother, and he knew his aunt loved him like he was her own son. Another of the changes in his life in the past 2 weeks was related to why he was in the basement of Cavern Records.

What was known by, until 2 weeks before, only one other person, as well as his cat, was that Jake Slater was also the superhero known as Gilded Rose. He had fought alongside Sailor Moon and her Sailor Soldiers, not knowing Sailor Moon was really his friend Serena Campbell, nor was one of the Sailor Soldiers (Sailor Mercury, to be precise) was his cousin Amy Anderson. Now that everyone was out in the open about their secret identities, Jake's boss, who, until the previous day, had been the only person (outside of his cat, Artemis) who knew his secret identity, had offered the room for the team (now that he was now open with the Sailor Soldiers about his identity, he was now officially part of the team) to use as a headquarters.

THE NEXT MORNING, IN ANOTHER DIMENSION

Darrien Shields had voluntarily gotten up early for probably the first time in his life. One thing he was not was a "morning person", preferring to sleep in. He especially hated rules, regulations, or discipline. But for some reason, even though what Malachite had put him through was similar to Marine boot camp(but even more intense and brutal), he seemed to enjoy it. He wasn't sure why at first, but realized it was because he relished the idea of truly wreaking fear into the hearts of those who "oppressed" him. Although his training had only lasted 3 weeks, he had learned a lot, in fact, had been progressing at a faster pace than Malachite expected. That, combined with his evil nature, made Malachite confident that Darrien was almost ready for what he was being trained for. Although he had been training for 3 weeks, he had yet to meet Metallia, under whom he would be serving. On this day, he finally met Metallia, and was only slightly flustered to learn that she and her sister Beryl were conjoined twins. She told him what his mission, and duties, would entail. "I sense you have a question for me," Metallia said.

"Something I'm curious about," Darrien said. "If you're this powerful evil sorceress, why didn't you ditch your goody-2-shoes Siamese twin when you had the chance?"

"That "goody-2-shoes Siamese twin" of mine you refer to," Metallia said, "is, to use a vernacular you would be familiar with, my insurance policy. I'm counting on the fact that those Sailor Soldier brats charged to defeat me, as well as the one who calls himself Gilded Rose, are fully aware that if they were to succeed in destroying me, they would also kill Beryl. And before you ask, no, they can't just cut us apart with an ax or a sword before they kill me. The only way to kill one of us without also killing the other is to sever the band of flesh that joins Beryl and myself with the Sword of Light. That was the first spell I cast once I gained my powers."

"What the Hell is the Sword of Light?" Darrien asked.

"A sword with a blade made of light instead of steel," Malachite said. "However, the very existence of such a sword is a myth. The Sword of Light is not known to actually exist, except in theory, or legend."

"Pretty smart move," Darrien said. "Making what could be a weakness into a strength. Anyways, just be thankful the Sailor Soldiers don't have Luke Skywalker on their side."

"Why's that?" Metallia asked.

"And who's this Luke Skywalker person?" Malachite asked.

"I'm assuming I'm the only person here who's seen _Star Wars_," Darrien said.

"Including myself," Beryl said, "you're probably the only person here who's even heard of _Star Wars_."

"_Star Wars _is a movie that came out a few years ago," Darrien said. "It spawned a couple sequels, _The Empire Strikes Back_, and _Return of the Jedi_. The main hero of the trilogy is Luke Skywalker, who trains and becomes a Jedi knight throughout the trilogy. He uses a weapon called a lightsaber, which is a sword with a blade made of light instead of steel."

"So I should just hope that neither the Sailor Soldiers or Gilded Rose have ever heard of this _Star Wars_," Metallia said.

"Somehow, I don't see that happening," Darrien said. "You'd have had to spend the last 10 years living under a rock to have never heard of _Star Wars_. The good news is, even if they figure out the connection, I don't see anyone figuring how to construct a lightsaber any time soon."

DR. SALLY K. RIDE HIGH SCHOOL, 3:00 P.M.

For one of the few times in his life, Jake Slater was genuinely nervous. He'd had a crush on Serena Campbell since beginning high school, but, even though they had been friends for several years, had never had the courage to act on it. He decided that day he was going to take the bull by the horns and ask her out on a date. For some reason, he hadn't had an opportunity to talk to her during the school day, but once school got out, he finally got his chance. He saw her alone by her locker. "Hey Serena," Jake said.

"Hey Jake," Serena said.

"Would you like to go out with me one night?" Jake asked.

"You mean, like on a date?" Serena asked.

"Not like on a date," Jake said. "An actual date."

"Sure," Serena said.

"Great," Jake said. "I have this Friday off, I'll call you later and let you know when I'll pick you up."

"It's a date," Serena said.

CAVERN RECORDS, 25 MINUTES LATER

Jake arrived at work and clocked in 5 minutes early. "Hey Jake," Dianne said as he clocked in, "You got any plans Friday night?"

"I'd love to come in to work," Jake said, "But since I had the night off, I asked Serena on a date."

"Don't worry, I don't need you to come in," Dianne said. "Besides, I'm closing up at 3 anyways, because I have to be in L.A. for a meeting. The reason I was asking is because Yesterday Never Knows is playing at the Icehouse Friday night."

"Yesterday Never Knows?" Jake asked. "I've never heard of them."

"They're a Beatles tribute band," Dianne said. "One of our regular customers is their George Harrison, and he found out you're related to the real George, and he wanted me to let you know you and a friend are on the guest list."

"He knows I'm only 16, doesn't he?" Jake asked.

"It's an all-ages show," Dianne said. "That's one of the advantages of playing at the Icehouse, they do allow minors in there, which is especially seeing as the oldest guy in the band is only 20."

"Would make sense that they would only play in places they can actually get in," Jake said.

SERENA'S BEDROOM

"You seem to be in a particularly good mood today," Luna said, as Serena tossed her backpack on the bed.

"He finally asked me out," Serena said.

"Who asked you out?" Luna asked.

"Jake Slater," Serena said. "I mean, I've only had a crush on him since like the 3rd grade."

"And it's fortunate that he just happens to be fighting the same battle as we are," Luna said.

"Serena," Irene Campbell, Serena's mother, said as she came into the room, "who are you talking to?"

"What makes you think I'm talking to someone?" Serena asked.

"I heard you talking to someone," Irene said. "And don't tell me you were talking to yourself, I distinctly heard an English accent."

"I think it's time we let the cat out of the bag," Luna said. "Both literally as well as figuratively."

"Serena," Irene said, in a frightened tone, "I could swear I just heard our cat speak."

"If it makes you feel any better," Serena said, "I felt the same way as you the first time I heard Luna speak."

"This is no time for games," Irene said.

"I'm not playing," Serena said. "Luna can speak. And if it makes you feel any better, you're taking it a lot better than I did."

"She's right," Luna said. "The first time I spoke to Serena, she started freaking out, as if she was under the influence of drugs."

"Which I can assure the both of you," Serena said, "the strongest thing I have ever ingested in my entire life is Mountain Dew, but that's not the point right now."

"Right," Irene said. "The point is, I'm having a conversation with the cat."

"You are having a conversation with the cat," Serena said. "You're not imagining it, and it's not a flashback from whatever you took during the 60's. But the fact that Luna is capable of human speech isn't the whole story. It has something to do with why we have her in the first place."

"And why is that?" Irene asked.

"I'm sure you've heard of Sailor Moon," Luna said, as Serena went to close her bedroom door.

"I have," Irene said. "But what does Sailor Moon have to do with anything."

"Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up!" Serena said, transforming into Sailor Moon.

"You could have just said "Mom, I'm Sailor Moon", you know," Irene said.

"I didn't think you'd believe me if I just told you," Sailor Moon said.

"Why not?" Irene asked. "I'm having a conversation with the cat, why wouldn't I believe my daughter is Sailor Moon?"

"This is a lot to take in, isn't it?" Sailor Moon asked.

"I almost wish you just told me that you were pregnant," Irene said. "That's something I can deal with."

"I'm still a virgin," Sailor Moon said. "I'm saving myself for my wedding night."

"That's a relief," Irene said, as Sailor Moon transformed back to Serena. "So does anyone besides myself and Luna know?"

"Just my teammates," Serena said.

"I suppose you're not going to tell me who any of them are," Irene said.

"That's not my secret to tell," Serena said. "Speaking of which, I don't want you telling anyone."

"Not even dad?" Irene asked.

"Maybe dad," Serena said. "But definitely not Sammy."

"What don't you want me to know?" Sammy, Serena's younger brother, asked as he entered the room. "That Serena's really Sailor Moon?"

"You little sneak," Serena said. "How long were you listening there?"

"Just long enough for me to hear Mom say that you're Sailor Moon," Sammy said. "Wait until all the guys hear that I'm Sailor Moon's kid brother."

"And how are they going to find out?" Irene asked.

"Duh," Sammy said. "I'm going to tell them. Of course, for the right price, I can keep a secret. Say, $20?"

"How about this," Irene said. "You even think about telling anyone, we'll ship you off to Brookdale."

"You can't do that to me," Sammy said. "That place is like a prison for boys."

"I can," Irene said, "and I will. Not only will I, but I will personally see to it the experience is especially unpleasant for you."

"Now you see why I don't want Sammy to know," Serena said.

LATER THAT EVENING, THE HOME OF DR. WENDY ANDERSON

When Jake got home from work, he called Serena and told her he would pick her up at 6:30, but didn't give any further details. As he hung up, he heard a knock on his bedroom door. "Come in," he said.

"I hear you got a date on Friday night," his aunt Wendy said.

"Serena Campbell," Jake said. "She's probably the oldest friend I have who I don't share about half my DNA with."

"Who do you share half your DNA with?," Amy asked, coming in the room.

"You," Jake said. Seeing that our mothers are identical twins, that makes us the genetic equivalent of half siblings, so that's how we share half our DNA."

"He's right, you know," Wendy said. "Blythe and I are genetically carbon copies of each other. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about, Jake."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Jake asked.

"Your date," Wendy said. "We have a little problem. I can't let you go out on a date on your scooter."

"You can't be serious," Jake said. "All I have is my scooter, do you want me to walk on Friday night?"

"I never said anything about walking," Wendy said. "I just said I don't want you taking your scooter."

"So if I can't use my scooter, what can I use?" Jake asked.

"Why don't you take," Wendy said, tossing Jake a key ring with a Union Jack fob, and a single key, which was the key to a 1962 Jaguar E-Type.

"You're letting me borrow your old Jaguar?" Jake asked, excitedly.

"No," Wendy said. "I'm not letting you borrow it, I'm giving it to you."

"You're giving me a Jaguar?" Jake asked.

"Not exactly," Wendy said. "I'm selling it to you."

"I'm kind of short on money right now," Jake said.

"That's okay," Wendy said. "I'm giving the car to you now, but payment in full is due on Thursday, when you get paid."

"I don't think I can pay you in full on what I make in a week," Jake said. "Especially since I do have a date this weekend."

"I'm certain you can afford what I'm charging you," Wendy said.

"How much are you charging me for the car, anyways?" Jake asked.

"One dollar," Wendy said.

"In that case," Jake said, getting his wallet out of his pocket, "we don't have to wait until Thursday." He took a dollar bill out and gave it to his aunt.

"Now that we've taken care of payment," Wendy said, "there are a few conditions. First off, I'm selling you the car, but I'll still pay for insurance, or if you need to take it in for any regular maintenance other than an oil change, if you need anything replaced, or any repairs not covered by insurance. However, if I find out any repairs were necessitated by you driving recklessly, or as a result of you driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you will be responsible for the full cost out of your own pocket."

"You don't have to worry about me driving under the influence," Jake said. "I'm straight edge."

"What does that mean?" Wendy asked.

"It's a punk subculture," Amy said. "It means he doesn't drink alcohol or use drugs. Some people who follow that lifestyle also follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle."

"Seeing as you ate my meatloaf last night," Wendy said, "we can assume you're not a vegetarian or a vegan."

FRIDAY EVENING, 6:25 P.M., SERENA CAMPBELL'S HOUSE

Jake had told Serena he'd pick her up at 6:30, because the show started at 7:00. However, for reasons known only to him, he showed up 5 minutes early. He went up to the door and rang the bell, and Irene answered the door. "Come on in," Irene said. "Can I get you something to drink?" she asked, as Jake came in and sat down on the couch.

"No thanks," Jake said.

"Sammy, go tell your sister her date's here," Irene said.

"Meatball-head!" Sammy yelled in the general direction of Serena's bedroom. "Your date's here!"

"I could have done that myself," Irene said.

"I'll be down in a minute," Serena said. "Just as soon as I put my shoes on."

"You sure I can't get you something to drink?" Irene asked.

"No thanks," Jake said.

"Would you do me a small favor the next time you go on a date with my sister?" Sammy asked Jake.

"What's that?" Jake asked.

"Get a haircut, you damn hippie," Sammy said, as he went to the refrigerator to grab a can of soda, and went upstairs to his bedroom.

"I'd like to think I was more mod than hippie," Jake said.

"I'm ready to go," Serena said, as she came down the stairs. She was wearing a white sweater with an off the shoulder neckline and a black leather belt around her waist, black miniskirt, black pantyhose, and black flats, and she was wearing pale pink fingernail polish.

"You aren't going to stay out too late, are you?" Irene asked.

"I'll have her back by 10:00," Jake said.

"That's fine with me," Irene said. "Serena, I need to have a word with you alone really quick before you leave."

"Jake already knows," Serena said, in a slightly hushed tone.

"Jake already knows what?" Irene asked.

"About Serena being Sailor Moon," Jake said. "And before you ask, I found out about 2 minutes before she found out I'm Gilded Rose."

10 MINUTES LATER, THE ICEHOUSE

"What is this place?" Serena asked, as Jake pulled into a parking space in the back.

"The Icehouse," Jake said, as they walked to the entrance, past a line of people waiting to get in. "Jake Slater," he said to the doorman.

The doorman looked at the clipboard in his hand, stopping about halfway down the first page. "Welcome to the Icehouse," he said. "Hope the two of you enjoy the show."

"Thank you," Jake said, as he and Serena entered.

"You realize we got in without paying," Serena said.

"I might have forgotten to mention that I'm on the guest list," Jake said. "Me and a friend."

"We're on the list?" Serena asked, as she and Jake were escorted to a table near the stage.

"That was my big surprise," Jake said.

"I hope the cops don't bust this place tonight," Serena said.

"Why do you think that?" Jake asked.

"You notice nobody carded us?" Serena said. "Aren't they afraid of losing their liquor license?"

"Not really," a young lady wearing a server's apron said, as she handed Jake and Serena menus. "Considering we don't even have a liquor license to lose in the first place."

"I guess that's why nobody carded us," Serena said.

"The owner wanted the minors of Sunny Hills to have somewhere other than Skate Factory to see bands," the server explained. "The only way the city would let us admit people under 21 was to not serve alcohol, and to serve some food other than peanuts and/or pretzels. So do you know what you want, or do you need a couple minutes to look over the menu?"

"I'll have a double cheeseburger," Jake said. "With seasoned fries, some fry sauce, and a Dr Pepper."

"I'll have a cheddar club melt," Serena said. "With potato chips and a Coke."

As the server left to put in their orders, Jake and Serena sat and talked. They got their food just as the band took to the stage, and finished eating partway through the band's set. As the server came to take their plates and refill their sodas, Serena got up and grabbed Jake's hand. "C'mon," she said, motioning to the dance floor, where a few couples started dancing.

"I think it's only fair to warn you," Jake said. "I'm not all that great a dancer."

"So you're not Fred Astaire," Serena said. "I'm not exactly Ginger Rogers myself, either. I just wanna dance for a bit."

"I didn't say I wouldn't dance," Jake said, as he and Serena went to the dance floor, "I just said I wasn't all that good at it."

After a couple songs, they went back to their table, and watched the rest of the show, which ended around 9:20.

30 MINUTES LATER, SERENA'S HOUSE

"I had a good time," Serena said, as Jake walked her to her front door. As they got to the front porch, Serena took his head in her hands and kissed him. When she kissed him, each of them felt a tingling down their spines.

10 MINUTES LATER, JAKE'S HOUSE

When Jake got home, he parked his car in the garage, next to his aunt's Mercedes. He came in through the garage, and his aunt was on the couch, watching TV while polishing her toenails. "How was your date?" Wendy asked, as Jake came in.

"I'm in love, L-U-V," Jake said.

"You sure about that?" Wendy asked.

"When I took her home, she kissed me," Jake said. "You know that old saying, that when you're in love with someone, and they kiss you, you see fireworks?"

"I've heard that story before," Wendy said.

"When Serena kissed me," Jake said, "imagine being on Fullerton Road on the 4th of July, just below the top, on the La Habra side. Combine that with the fact that at the same time I was watching every fireworks show in Orange County at the same time, it felt like someone had taken a deliberator to my spine, and you get the idea."

"I guess you are in love," Wendy said.

"Serena and I have been friends since kindergarten," Jake said. "I had a crush on her for the last year, and when she kissed me earlier, I realized I was in love."

SERENA'S HOUSE

"So how was the big date with Jake?" Luna asked, when Serena got home.

"He's the one," Serena said.

"He's the one what?" Luna asked.

"You know how everybody has that one special someone?" Serena asked.

"No," Luna said. "I'm a cat, I'm not exactly an expert on how humans operate. I mean, remember the first time I spoke to you, I had this crazy idea that you would be used to having a conversation with a cat."

"Well, I probably know about as much about feline love as you do about human love," Serena said. "But with humans, each human has that one special someone they're destined to spend the rest of their life with, and tonight, I found that Jake is mine."

"And you're absolutely sure of this?" Luna asked.

"As sure as you're a cat," Serena said.

"And how do you know he's the one?" Luna asked.

"I kissed him when he brought me home," Serena said. "When I kissed him, it felt like someone hooked a car battery to my spine. I've kissed a couple guys before, but I never felt that with anyone besides Jake."

"That must be what love is for humans," Luna said.

THE NEXT MORNING, 7:00 A.M.

"Get your ass out of bed and get into character," Artemis said, nudging Jake's head.

"Metallia finally reared her ugly head?" Jake asked.

"She's actually quite attractive, by human standards," Artemis said. "Her and Beryl being Siamese twins notwithstanding."

"So where is the presence of Gilded Rose required?" Jake asked.

"Heritage Park," Artemis said.

"I'll be there in a minute," Jake said. "I just have to do one little thing first."

"What can be more important than your sworn duty to protect Earth from Metallia?" Artemis asked.

"Sailor Mercury's sleeping right down the hall," Jake explained, thankful that his aunt had left an hour earlier.

"Calling in reinforcements does sound like a good idea," Artemis said.

"Amy!" Jake said, entering her bedroom. "Get up and call the girls. Tell them to meet me at Heritage Park, Metallia's sent one of her goons there."

"Roger Wilco," Amy said, grabbing her transformation pen as Jake transformed and left. "Mercury here," she said into the pen. "Meet me and Gilded Rose at Heritage Park now!" she barked into the pen, and held it up. "Mercury Power, Make-Up!"

HERITAGE PARK

Sailor Venus was the first of the Sailor Soldiers to arrive, and found Gilded Rose battling a pair of bird-like humanoids, one male, one female. The male was approximately 6'3", with the build of a professional wrestler, while the female was 6" shorter, with a lean physique. When Sailor Earth arrived, Gilded Rose was in a wrestling lockup with the male, while the female was shooting bolts of energy at him. "I got Big Bird," Gilded Rose said, as Sailor Earth arrived. "Why don't you get his twin sister off my back."

"Right," Sailor Venus said, engaging the female in battle, as the other Sailor Soldiers arrived. A 6 on 1 attack was more than the female could handle, and she was dispatched quickly, leaving only an explosion of feathers behind when she died.

Meanwhile, Gilded Rose grappled with the male, and was able to free himself, and grab his tonfas. As he did, Darrien Shields, wearing a dark blue military uniform with gold piping with the pants tucked into knee high black boots, a dark blue cape with red lining, and black Sam Browne belt, with a sword in a scabbard at his waist. As he arrived, Gilded Rose jabbed the male humanoid in the chest with the end of one of his tonfas, cracking his sternum. "Time to Kentucky fry this chicken," he said, as he used his other tonfa to hook the humanoid's legs, and sweep him off his feet.

"Right," Sailor Moon said, as the humanoid got up. "Moon Tiara, Magic!" she said, throwing her tiara at it, destroying it in an explosion of feathers.

"Now why would you go and do something like that?" the male in military dress asked. "All the Aviaris twins wanted to do was to restore this planet to its rightful ruler."

"That's funny," Gilded Rose said. "Stopping Metallia from taking over Earth is what we're here for."

"And who might you be, anyways?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Me?" the male asked. "You can call me Endymion. And what names will I be carving on your tombstones?"

"Only name being carved onto a tombstone today," Gilded Rose said, "is Endymion. "But while you're still breathing, you can call me Gilded Rose."

"And I'm Sailor Moon," Sailor Moon said.

"And we're the Sailor Soldiers," Sailor Mars said. "They call me Sailor Mars."

"Sailor Venus."

"Sailor Mercury."

"Sailor Earth."

"Sailor Jupiter."

"I always like to know just whose blood I'm spilling," Endymion said, unsheathing his sword, and using it to fire several blasts of energy at the team.

"Nice try," Gilded Rose said, blocking the blasts with his tonfas. He returned them to their holsters on his back, and grabbed for his staff, which he discovered had transformed into a sword. He wielded his sword, and engaged Endymion in combat. They fought with a fury that belied the fact that both combatants were only 16. They were evenly matched with swords, however, Gilded Rose's speed and agility, alongside the fact he had combat experience, gave him a distinct advantage. He pressed the advantage, and eventually managed to disarm his foe. "Gold Rush!" he said, sheathing his sword. He rushed at Endymion, attacking him with such speed, it seemed like he was attacking from all sides at once.

"Mars Flame Sniper!" Sailor Mars said, conjuring up a bow, which she used to fire a flaming arrow at Endymion.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Sailor Mercury said, raising both hands above her head and dropping them quickly, which caused Endymion to be attacked by a barrage of bubbles.

"Earth Rockslide Barrage!" Sailor Earth said, making "jazz hands" towards Endymion, which caused him to be attacked by a barrage of rocks.

"Venus Love Kiss!" Sailor Venus said, kissing her hand, which left behind a glowing sphere of energy, which she blew at Endymion, staggering him as it hit its mark.

"Flash Blade Attack!" Sailor Jupiter said, throwing a disc of lightning, discus style, at Endymion, staggering him furtherer.

"Time to finish him off," Sailor Moon said.

"Right," Gilded Rose said, bringing his sword down for the killing blow.

"I think not," Endymion said, disappearing just before Gilded Rose's would have hit its mark.

METALLIA'S DIMENSION

"Here comes the big bad warrior," said a college aged man with close cropped hair, in a sarcastic tone.

"Nice to see you too, Jadeite," Endymion said.

"What a failure," Jadeite said. "You can't even take care of a couple little girls."

"Actually, there were 6 girls," Endymion said. "And a ninja."

"That doesn't excuse your failure," Jadeite said. "Nor does it excuse you letting the Aviaris twins get wasted."

"Endymion didn't fail," Malachite said.

"How do you figure that?" Jadeite asked. "He barely got away, and all that's left of the Aviaris twins is some feathers."

"He didn't fail because he did exactly what he was told to do," Malachite said. "I asked him to scout out those who would stand against Metallia, how many there are, and what their strengths and weaknesses are. As for the Aviaris twins, you know as well as I that they are, what would you call them?"

"Cannon fodder," Endymion said. "The Aviaris twins were expendable."

"But they did serve their purpose," Malachite said. "They did give me an idea of what the key to defeating them will be, as did you."

"Gilded Rose is handy with a sword," Endymion said. "And, if you hadn't pulled me back here when you did, I would be a head shorter, courtesy of him. Take Gilded Rose out of the equation, the rest of them should fall like dominoes."

"My thought exactly," Malachite said.

8:58, CAVERN RECORDS BASEMENT

After the battle, and everyone went home, Jake took a quick shower, and met the rest of the team in the basement, which they used as their headquarters. When he arrived, he found that Dianne had made breakfast for the team, with scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, biscuits, and gravy. "Endymion has to be Darrien Shields," he said.

"You sure about that?" Dianne asked. "I mean, he's supposed to be in juvie from when you nailed him for shoplifting."

"I wouldn't have put it past Metallia to bust him out," Jake said. "When I nailed him, I got this feeling that somehow, he was connected to Gilded Rose in some way."

"That could be," Luna said. "Back in the Moon Kingdom, Endymion was someone who we thought was on our side, but he betrayed us. He stabbed Jacara, and pledged his allegiance to Metallia."

"No wonder I never liked him," Jake said. "He tried to murder me in a previous life. There was one other development from our battle that could be significant."

"What's that?" Serena asked.

"It was the strangest thing," Jake said. "When I saw Endymion's sword, I thought to myself that I wished I had a sword. And when I went for my staff, it wasn't there, but I was carrying a sword."

"Something I may have forgotten to mention," Artemis said, as Jake poured him a saucer of cream. "Your staff is the personal weapon of the leader of the Order. Along with being able to extend or retract to whatever length you require, the person who wields it can transform it into any weapon they can think of."

"Any weapon?" Jake asked.

"Any weapon," Luna said. "Is there something wrong?"

"Far from it," Jake said. "I just realized something."

"What is that?" Susan asked.

"This could turn into one really cool development," Jake said.


	8. Rini

**SAILOR MOON:AMERICAN SENSHI-REBOOTED**

By Eugol Dlareg

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, or any character names or concepts from the original manga or anime. Sailor Moon was originally created by Naoko Takeuchi, and all characters and concepts from the any previously produced versions are owned by someone in Japan, most likely either Ms. Takeuchi or Toei, except for Americanized names, which are owned by either DiC or Cloverway. This story is a reboot of an alternate universe version of Sailor Moon I wrote between 2001 and 2005, and includes characters and concepts created by myself. In a nutshell: if it originated in the original manga and/or anime, it's owned by either Naoko Takeuchi and/or Toei(to the best of my knowledge). If it originated in the English dub, it's owned by either DiC and/or Cloverway. Everything created for this story, it was created by Eugol Dlareg.

PROLOG

SATURDAY, 26 APRIL, 1986, BASEMENT OF CAVERN RECORDS

After the battle, and everyone went home, Jake took a quick shower, and met the rest of the team in the basement, which they used as their headquarters. When he arrived, he found that Dianne had made breakfast for the team, with scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, biscuits, and gravy. "Endymion has to be Darrien Shields," he said.

"You sure about that?" Dianne asked. "I mean, he's supposed to be in juvie from when you nailed him for shoplifting."

"I wouldn't have put it past Metallia to bust him out," Jake said. "When I nailed him, I got this feeling that somehow, he was connected to Gilded Rose in some way."

"That could be," Luna said. "Back in the Moon Kingdom, Endymion was someone who we thought was on our side, but he betrayed us. He stabbed Jacara, and pledged his allegiance to Metallia."

"No wonder I never liked him," Jake said. "He tried to murder me in a previous life. There was one other development from our battle that could be significant."

"What's that?" Serena asked.

"It was the strangest thing," Jake said. "When I saw Endymion's sword, I thought to myself that I wished I had a sword. And when I went for my staff, it wasn't there, but I was carrying a sword."

"Something I may have forgotten to mention," Artemis said, as Jake poured him a saucer of cream. "Your staff is the personal weapon of the leader of the Order. Along with being able to extend or retract to whatever length you require, the person who wields it can transform it into any weapon they can think of."

"Any weapon?" Jake asked.

"Any weapon," Luna said. "Is there something wrong?"

"Far from it," Jake said. "I just realized something."

"What is that?" Susan asked.

"This could turn into one really cool development," Jake said.

"What do you mean?" Mina asked.

"I'll show you," Jake said, transforming into Gilded Rose. He wielded his staff, and transformed it into a footlong cylinder, tapering at one end, and topped with a disc slightly larger in diameter than the cylinder, and on the other end, a spherical pommel, slightly less in diameter than the cylinder, with several small cubic knobs around the equator. He pressed a recessed button on the cylinder, and, with a crackle of energy, it emitted a beam of blue light, just under a meter in length, which emitted a humming noise whenever he waved it. "Isn't this totally wicked cool?" Gilded Rose asked.

"What are you talking about?" Mina asked.

"Ever since I saw _Star Wars_ for the first time," Gilded Rose said, transforming back to Jake, "I've always wanted one of those. A freaking lightsaber."

"If you weren't my cousin," Amy said, as Gilded Rose transformed back to Jake, "I'd kiss you right now."

"What do you mean?" Molly asked.

"Yeah," Serena said. "What gives?"

"Does anyone besides me realize the ramifications of what just happened?" Amy asked.

"What ramifications?" Artemis asked.

"So Jake just made a laser sword," Molly said. "What's the big deal about that?"

"I think I know what Amy's getting at," Susan said, giving Jake a kiss.

"What was that all about, you kissing my boyfriend like that?" Serena asked.

"I have a science lesson for you," Susan said. "Jake made a laser sword. Can anyone tell me what a laser is?"

"It's a concentrated beam of light," Rae said, which made her realize the full significance of what happened. "Jake, I suggest you pucker up, because once Molly, Serena, and Mina realize what Amy was getting at, you're owed a few kisses."

"I'll be damned," Serena said. "I knew it. The one way to kill Metallia without also killing Beryl in the process is to separate them with a sword with a beam of light. Luna, what did I tell you the first time you told me about it?"

"You said we'd find the Sword of Light by sheer dumb luck," Luna said, "I hate to admit it, but you hit the nail on the head with that one."

"Here's the bad news," Jake said. "I can't use it. At least, not until I get close enough to Metallia and Beryl to separate them."

"He's right," Molly said. "If she knew we had the Sword of Light, there's no way she'd let any of us get within a mile of her."

**CHAPTER 7:**

**RINI**

THURSDAY, 24 JULY, 1986 CAVERN RECORDS, 12:30 P.M.

"We need to talk," Serena Campbell said, as she came in the store.

"Oh great," Jake Slater said.

"What do you mean by that?" Serena asked.

""You just came in here and told me we need to talk exactly how I would imagine you would if you were breaking up with me," Jake said,

"Don't worry," Serena said. "I'm not breaking up with you. This has to do with Metallia."

"What about Metallia?" Jake asked. "We haven't heard from her in about 3 months, since we fought Darrien."

"That's my point exactly," Serena said. "She's been too quiet for too long, and I don't like it."

"I don't like it either," Jake said. "Her being quiet for that long can mean one of three things; either she's trying to get us to drop our guard, or she's planning something real big."

"That was only 2 things," Serena said.

"The third thing is a combination of the 2," Jake said. "She's planning something huge, and waiting for us to drop our guard before she springs it."

"So what do you want the other Sailor Soldiers and I to do?" Serena asked.

"Keep on those pretty pedicured toes of yours," Jake said. "All of you. You never know when or where Metallia will strike."

"So we still on for tomorrow?" Serena asked.

"Of course," Jake said. "Who am I to pass up a day lounging by the pool?"

"You sure you won't have to work this weekend?" Serena asked.

"Absolutely," Jake said. "Dianne's leaving for Lodi first thing in the morning, and she's going to be gone all weekend."

THE NEXT DAY

Jake stopped and picked up a bucket of fried chicken with all the fixings, and a case of soda from Pop Shoppe, and arrived at Serena's at 11:45. "So what did you bring?" Serena asked.

"Bucket of chicken, extra crispy, with cole slaw and potato salad," Jake said. "With extra biscuits, and a case of pop."

"What flavors did you get?" Serena asked.

"Black cherry, island punch, and apple," Jake said, grabbing a bottle of apple soda and opening it.

"Oh good," Serena said. "I love black cherry soda."

Serena was going to say something else, but she was interrupted by what sounded like a young girl screaming. She and Jake turned around just in time to see someone falling into the pool. Jake dove in and pulled out a girl who appeared to be around 12 years old. The girl had pink hair worn in the same hairstyle as Serena, and was wearing a pink t-shirt with Minnie Mouse on the front, blue jeans, and white sneakers. Jake set the girl down face up on the deck of the pool, and checked to see if she was breathing. He was about to begin mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, when she began coughing. "I'm fine," the girl said, once she stopped coughing. "Now where is the crystal?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jake said.

"Don't play dumb with me," the girl said, getting up. "I know you have the crystal."

"What crystal?" Jake asked.

"I told you," the girl said, unholstering a Walther PPK from a holster in the small of her back and pointing it at Jake's head, "Don't play dumb with me. Give me the crystal."

"He doesn't have the crystal you're looking for," Serena said.

"I honestly have no idea what crystal you're looking for," Jake said. "But I can assure you I don't have it. Now put your little toy away please."

"I'm not fucking around here," the girl said, aiming the gun at Jake's soda and pulling the trigger. As the gun went off with a definitely real "BANG!", the bottle shattered as if dropped. "Now give me the fucking crystal."

"I can assure you I don't have whatever it is you're looking for," Jake said, as the girl pointed the gun at his head again.

"I believe you now," the girl said.

"You do?" Serena asked."

"I'm sure pointing a loaded gun at your head would make you give it to me," the girl said. "Unless of course, you never had it in the first place."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Jake said. "What is this crystal you're looking for, anyways?"

"It's one just like this," the girl said, holding what appeared to be a compact disc. As she held it, it projected a hologram of what appeared to be a 4500 carat diamond, which constantly changed colors.

"So it's a huge diamond that changes colors," Jake said. "What's so damn special about that?"

"Either of you ever see _Star Wars_?" the girl asked.

"It's only my favorite movie of all time," Jake said.

"Pretty much everyone over the age of six has seen it by now," Serena said. "But what does _Star Wars_ have anything to do with your crystal?"

"Imagine the superlaser from the Death Star shrunk down to the size of a medium sized tank, but still powerful enough to destroy a planet with a single shot," the girl said.

"I'm assuming the crystal you're looking for has something to do with that," Jake said.

"The crystal I'm looking for powers the superlaser," the girl said, "Actually, the laser is powered by 5 crystals."

"Hold it," Jake said. "You're not building this superweapon of completely fucking destroying creation, are you?"

"No," the girl said. "I'm trying to stop someone else from building it."

"That's good," Jake said.

"The superlaser is being built by a madman from my time," the girl said. "By the way, what year is this?"

"It's 1986," Serena said.

"Wait a second," the girl said. "You didn't think it was suspicious I asked what year this was? You didn't assume I just fell out of a plane or something?"

"Believe me," Jake said, "any plane flying low enough that you wouldn't have been killed on impact with the water, we definitely would have known about it."

"And with everything Jake and I have gone through," Serena said, "time travel is pretty run of the mill."

"Besides," Jake said, "just before you asked what year it was, you mentioned something about how a superlaser was being built by a madman from your time. You wouldn't have said that if you weren't from the future."

"But that's not important," Serena said. "What is important is finding your crystal and keeping it out of the hands of a madman who wants to build a weapon powerful enough to destroy Earth. And why this crystal? What's so special about it?"

"Because he has the other 4," the girl said.

"So what's so special about this one?" Jake asked.

"He needs all 5 to power the superlaser," the girl said. "He has the superlaser built, but without all 5 crystals, all he has is a trillion dollar hunk of space junk in geosynchronous orbit directly above the San Andreas fault."

"Why there?" Jake asked.

"A theory I want to test out," a man in a suit of techno-armor, who appeared out of nowhere, said, in a Russian accent. "The first thing I plan on doing once I find the final crystal is to fire a low level blast at the San Andreas fault, nowhere near powerful enough to destroy the planet, but powerful enough to cause an earthquake which will hopefully be strong enough to either sink California or to separate it from the rest of the United States."

"I told you he was a madman," the girl said.

"But I have to admit," Jake said, "I've wondered about that theory myself, if a strong earthquake would cause California to split from the rest of North America."

"Kostigan!" the girl spat out, with contempt in her voice, realizing who the stranger was. "I should have known you'd follow me to this time period."

"Too bad you haven't found the last crystal," Kostigan said. "If you had, I would have rewarded you."

"Let me guess," Jake said, transforming into Gilded Rose, "her "reward" would be you killing her as quickly and painlessly as possible."

"Unfortunately for the both of us, Rini," Kostigan said, "your friend tells the truth. If you had the crystal, I would have killed you quickly and painlessly."

"And why would that be unfortunate for you?" Rini asked.

"As much as you and your parents have been a thorn in my side," Kostigan said, "I like you. You have, how do they say it, pluck. And you handle that Walther PPK you didn't know I know you carry better than James Bond. If you hadn't been brainwashed your whole life by the propaganda and lies perpetrated by your false regime, you would have made a valuable ally to my proud cause."

"Fuck you," Rini said.

"And what, pray tell, is his so called proud cause?" Gilded Rose asked.

"The rebirth of the glorious Soviet Union," Kostigan said, firing a blast of energy at Gilded Rose.

"Amateur," Gilded Rose said, unsheathing his staff and extending it to full length, using it to shield himself from Kostigan's blast.

"Moon Cosmic Power, Make-Up!" Serena said, transforming into Sailor Moon.

"I think discretion might be the better part of valor," Kostigan said, disappearing. "But I'll be back."

"Oo-kay," Gilded Rose said, transforming back to Jake. "Will someone tell me what in the _Wide World of Sports_ just happened?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Sailor Moon said, transforming back to Serena.

"He'll be back," Rini said. "Kostigan wasn't ready to fight you just now."

"So that's why he cut out as soon as I became Sailor Moon," Serena said.

"So what was he talking about, anyways?" Jake said. "He said something about restoring the Soviet Union."

"He's part of a group that is trying to restore the Soviet Union," Rini said. "Along with the addition of the United States."

"What do you mean, the restoration of the Soviet Union?" Jake asked.

"The Soviet Union will fall in 1991," Rini said. "The United States pretty much wins the Cold War."

"At least some good comes out of this," Jake said. "Finding out Communism will only last a few more years."

"Enough about some stupid archaic dispute about political ideology," Rini said. "We need to find and destroy the crystal before Kostigan returns."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Jake said.

"I believe I can help in that matter," said a floating sphere, approximately half the diameter of a basketball, and stylized to look like a black cat's head.

"Please tell me that thing is on our side," Jake said.

"Luna P is one of my most valued allies," Rini said.

"That thing looks like my cat," Serena said. "Funny thing, my cat just happens to be named Luna."

"This is starting to get creepy," Jake said. "Especially what I just noticed about our new friend here."

"What's that?" Serena asked.

"For starters," Jake said, "she's obviously from the future. Second of all, she has that floating cat head thingy that not only looks like Luna, but is called Luna. Third, I just realized how much Rini reminds me of you at her age. She looks just like you, and she even has your hairstyle."

"I'm seeing it too," Serena said. "Jake, you're not about to tell me our new friend is my daughter from the future, or some shit like that, are you?"

"I was going to say our daughter from the future," Jake said. "She looks like you, but she's acting exactly like I would if some madman was trying to build a Death Star."

"They said it," Rini said. "I didn't."

"Said what?" Serena asked.

"That I'm your daughter from the future," Rini said, as Luna P scanned Jake and Serena.

"And my bio-scan confirms it," Luna P said. "These are your parents."

"I have a daughter?" Serena asked.

"We have a daughter," Jake said. "Her little toy even says so."

"Luna P's not a toy," Rini said. "She's a highly advanced supercomputer."

"I think we're forgetting the matter at hand," Serena said. "We need to find the final crystal and keep this Kostigan character from getting it."

"According to my calculations," Luna P said, "the crystal should be arriving in this time period in approximately seven minutes and thirteen seconds."

"So the crystal isn't even here to begin with," Jake said.

"Not yet," Rini said. "That's why I came here in the first place, I wanted to get here before the crystal arrived."

"How is that even possible?" Serena asked.

"With this," Rini said, holding up what appeared to be an old fashioned key, decorated with several gems. "The key of time and space. I used it to open up a random portal, tossed the crystal in, and thought I was done with it. After I did that, I realized that wouldn't stop Kostigan, so I set the key to open a portal to a few minutes before the crystal is supposed to arrive, and jumped in."

"But why hold a loaded gun to my head as soon as you got here?" Jake asked.

"Precautions," Rini said. "I just wanted to be sure the key didn't send me to a few minutes after the crystal arrived instead of a few minutes before. That, and I thought you might have been working for Kostigan. How was I to know the first people I met in this time period would be my parents?"

"You didn't recognize your own parents?" Serena asked.

"When I fell from the time portal, I was briefly disoriented," Rini said. "Of course, falling into a swimming pool full of water didn't help matters much. Besides, in my time, you don't exactly leave pictures of yourselves lying around the house, you know. It actually took me a minute to realize who you were. I'd like to tell you more, but one of the cardinal rules of time travel is that I can't tell you anything about the future."

"But we already know about the future," Serena said. "Jake and I know we're going to have a daughter sometime in the future, and that the Soviet Union will fall in about 5 years."

"Technically, I didn't break the rules," Rini said.

"She's right," Jake said. "We're the ones who said she's our daughter from the future."

"Right," Rini said. "I can't tell you anything about the future, but if you correctly guess something, I am allowed to confirm it. As for the fall of the Soviet Union, Kostigan is the one who said that the Soviet Union fell, I just gave you the year it happened."

"I think we need to get moving," Jake said. "The crystal should arrive any minute, and we need to be where it will arrive when it does."

"We are where the crystal will arrive," Luna P said. "Rini opened up the portal a few minutes before it was supposed to arrive, but at the exact location where it arrives."

"So all we need is to wait it out, and destroy it once it arrives," Jake said.

"Easier said than done," Rini said. "The only thing that can destroy the crystals is a sonic laser with a frequency of 62.4 kHz. Unfortunately, the sonic laser hasn't been invented yet. The good news is, it's invented in my time, so when the crystal shows up, I can just open up a portal home and use the one in the lab."

"What is it with us and non-existent weapons?" Serena asked.

"You don't have to go back just yet," Jake said.

"Don't tell me you have a sonic laser," Rini said.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Jake said, transforming once again into Gilded Rose. "It just occurred to me that I can transform my staff into any weapon I can think of. I'll just transform it into a sonic laser, adjust the beam to the correct frequency, and when the crystal arrives, I'll blast it."

"That might actually work," Serena said.

"It will work," Rini said.

"I believe the crystal should be arriving any second," Luna P said, as Jake transformed his staff into a sonic laser, and adjusted the beam to a frequency of 62.4 kHz. As he did, the sky opened up just long enough for the crystal to fall through, and land in the pool.

"I'll get it," Rini said, diving in the pool. She came up a few seconds later, holding the crystal.

"Just set it on the table," Serena said.

"Ready, aim, fire!" Gilded Rose said, taking aim at the crystal, destroying it at the atomic level.

"Now Kostigan will never be able to use his superlaser," Rini said.

"But I'm sure he'll be pissed when he returns and finds the crystal's been destroyed," Serena said.

"Don't forget when he gets back, he'll be prepared for us," Gilded Rose said.

"Was he wearing his chrono-suit?" Luna P asked.

"You mean that armored battlesuit that looks like Iron Man's evil twin?" Gilded Rose asked.

"If you mean this," Luna P said, projecting an image of Kostigan in his armor, "yes."

"What's that on his chest?" Gilded Rose asked. "It looks like another of those crystals, but smaller."

"That's the stabilizing crystal of his chrono-suit," Luna P said. "It allows him to remain in any particular time."

"What would happen if it were to be destroyed?" Serena asked.

"He would be trapped in the time stream," Luna P said. "Unable to escape, he would be lost in time, sent on a one-way ride to the end of time."

"In other words," Gilded Rose said, "destroy that crystal, take Kostigan out of the equation."

"Pretty much," Luna P said.

"You know what might be helpful," Gilded Rose said. "If I knew how to destroy the crystal."

"The crystal can be destroyed with a sonic laser as well," Luna P said. "However, these smaller crystals require a frequency of 96.21 kHz."

"On it," Gilded Rose said, adjusting the laser frequency.

"I told you I'd be back," Kostigan said, as he arrived. "Now where's the crystal?"

"You're too late," Rini hissed. "The crystal's been destroyed."

"Destroyed?" Kostigan asked. "But how?"

"Like this," Gilded Rose said, shooting the crystal in Kostigan's chest armor. As the crystal was vaporized, Kostigan disappeared, screaming as if his cells were literally being ripped apart. In a matter of a couple seconds, it was as if he never existed.

"So that ends that," Gilded Rose said, transforming back to Jake. "We destroyed the crystal and neutralized Kostigan. Rini, I think it's high time you went back home."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple," Luna P said.

"Don't tell me," Rini said.

"I'm afraid so," Luna P said. "I'm surprised the key had enough juice to make this last jump."

"So you're stuck here?" Jake asked.

"Only for 2 weeks," Luna P said. "That's how long it will take the key to recharge."

"So I guess I'm stuck here," Rini said, putting the key in a slot that opened in the back of Luna P.

"Fortunately, there's enough energy left for me to send a message to your parents," Luna P said. "I'll tell them where you are, why you're here, and when you'll be back."

"Great," Rini said. "As soon as I get back, I'll be grounded until my grandkids are old and grey."

"Not necessarily," Luna P said. "Seeing as you did manage to stop Kostigan,"

LATER THAT AFTERNOON

"Mom, dad," Serena said, after her parents came home, "Jake and I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Irene Campbell asked. "You're not pregnant, are you?"

"Well," Serena said, "Yes and no."

If looks could kill, the look Sam Campbell gave Jake would get him at least 25 years. "Which one is it?" he asked.

"No, I'm not pregnant," Serena said, "but Jake and I do have a 12 year old daughter."

"How is that even possible?" Sam asked.

"I'm from the future," Rini said, as she came in the room. "I came back to 1986 to stop a terrorist from my time from creating a weapon that would have destroyed the world, and I kind of got stranded here for a couple weeks."

"Serena," Sam said, "if you weren't Sailor Moon, and we didn't have a cat that speaks 5 languages, I would be telling you that you need to quit eating brownies from the Alice B. Toklas Bakery. Even with what I do know about you, time travel does seem kind of far fetched."

"I can assure you that Rini is Jake and Serena's future daughter," Luna P said.

"What are you doing here?" Rini asked.

"I have a message from your father," Luna P said. "Unfortunately, it's only audio."

"Hey Rini," the older version of Jake said. "I just got Luna P's message about the key needing to be recharged. First of all, let me assure you you won't be grounded for letting the key run out of juice. First of all, Luna P's message said how your mother and my younger selves helped you not only prevent Kostigan from finding the final crystal to power his superlaser, but also to trap him in the time stream. After I got Luna P's message, I made sure the superlaser was dismantled, and the other 4 crystals destroyed. But that's not why I'm not upset. I'm not upset at you for letting the key run out of juice is because it's not your fault. I made a couple jumps to the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, and it took a lot of the energy, and I forgot to charge the key. I mean, how was I to know you would find the last crystal? But I would like to make it up to you. I know how much you would have wanted to go, I know that's a subject you're interested in, how you would have liked to see it firsthand. When the key is charged up, I'm going to send you some tickets to the 1965 season, and you can spend a few days there before you come home. Just make sure you take my younger self when you go to the fair, and and I'll make sure he gets back to his own time."

THE NEXT DAY, MULLIGAN PARK, 2:45 P.M.

Jacob was jogging through a wooded section of the park, carrying Rini on his back. "I really appreciate you doing this for me," he said. "I realize you're not that big, but still, carrying a little extra weight on my back while I jog will help me build up my stamina and endurance."

"I don't mind," Rini said.

"Is anything the matter?" Jake asked.

"It's just that it's been a while since you've carried me like this," Rini said.

"If you want to get technical about it," Jake said, "this is the first time I've ever carried you like this."

"Maybe it's the first time for the teenaged version of you," Rini said, "but as long as I can remember, you and I have always gone for a walk in this park, at least once a week. We'd always do at least a couple laps around the park, and when I would get tired, you'd carry me on your back. Those walks were our "daddy/daughter" time."

"I know you're going to be here for the next 2 weeks," Jake said, "and no offense, but I hope you don't plan on spending the whole time with me."

"No," Rini said. "Mom and I spent the morning together. We went out for breakfast and she did my toes."

"I don't know if she told you this," Jake said, "but your mother and I talked, and even though you're our daughter, while you're here in 1986, instead of calling us mom and dad, we would like for you to call us Serena and Jake."

"I take it you and Serena aren't ready to be parents yet," Rini said.

"In a way," Jake said, "We're still kids ourselves. After all, technically, you aren't even born yet. I'd ask when you will be born, but I have a feeling that if you could tell me, you still wouldn't."

"All I can tell you," Rini said, "is that I won't be born for at least another 5 years."


End file.
